Growing Pains
by Orgrim Doomhammer
Summary: Link-Zelda romance, violance and 40 pages. And I updated this one. I just don't use chapters.


Growing pains  
  
"Give it back!"  
  
"If you can catch me!"  
  
"Just wait 'till I get you!" a ten year old boy said as he was chasing a girl his age. The boy wore a green tunic and brown boots. A short sword was sheathed on his back and it was covered with a small, wooden shield. His blond hair seemed alive at the speed the boy had. The girl he was chasing wore a fancy dress. It was white with a layer of purple running all the way down and long, blue sleeves. The crest of the Royal Family, three golden triangles in one bigger triangle, was inscribed in the lower part of the dress. A shawl was wrapped around her head to keep her long, blonde hair in place. The reason for the chase was the green, pointed cap the girl held in her hand. The two ran past the soldiers of the castle who were amused about this all. They ran through the corridors of the castle, through the halls and the rooms. Over the marble floors and past the windows where the early sunrays cast through. As she ran, the girl looked over her shoulder to see if the boy was closing in on her. That was indeed the fact. His endurance was far greater than hers. He also spent more time outdoors than she did. She slowed her pace and stopped, unable to continue further. She panted as she turned around and saw the boy stopping in front of her. "Ha!" the boy said victoriously. "Her Majesty is giving up, eh? Give it back." The girl handed him his cap and he put it on his head again. He looked at her with a smirk on his face. "How can you get so fast..." the girl said exhausted. "Experience." he said smiling. "So... Do I get a kiss?" he said as he bent forward and pursed his lips. He knew she hated him to say it and he liked her reaction. But he wouldn't want to kiss her if his life depended on it. Just imagine: Kissing a girl! How soft... The girl backed away from him. "Absolutely not!" She walked past him. The boy followed her. "Awww! But Zelda..." he continued.  
  
"I don't even think about it! It's disgusting and not very princess-like."  
  
"But other boys said they have already kissed a girl..." he tried, knowing she wouldn't admit.  
  
"They're just bragging. And let me guess. Those other boys are Kokiri?"  
  
"Yeah. So...? Oh, you mean about the growing up thing?" Kokiri were creatures who looked like Hylians, except for the fact that they stopped growing after their tenth age. They lived a full live, but looked like kids for their whole lives. A lot of misunderstandings existed about the little fairy folk. Some people said that Kokiri-minds kept on developing, but that didn't happen. It was a mistery to most people how Kokiri children were born. Kokiri had pointed ears, just like Hylians, but Hylians DID grew up and, except for the ears, they looked exactly like Humans. "Yes, Link. And we are Hylians, so it's not appropriate to do that." It sounded a bit arrogant towards Link. "Blah, blah, blah, BLAH..." the boy said. "I wish I had more normal friends..." he murmered, but not soft enough. "What!?! And what's not normal about me?" Zelda asked furious. "You're a princess for starters." Zelda turned around to him. "You know what I think? I think you're just jealous!" Link also turned to her. "Jealous? Me?"  
  
"Yes. You live in the forest with all those Kokiri in a stupid tree-house and I live in a huge, beautifull castle. My father told me that I'll marry a handsome prince when I grow up and that I'll be very happy."  
  
"Hmph. Like I would want to marry such a spoiled, self-centred princess."  
  
"Oh! You... you peasant!"  
  
"At least I've seen more than just walls!" Zelda got angrier by the minute. She suddenly gave Link a hard push. It came unexpected, so the boy fell on his back. He also hit the floor with his head. It looked worse than it was. Zelda startled and put her hands on her mouth as Link slowly sat up straight. Zelda helped him up his feet. "I'm so sorry, Link. I'm so sorry..." Link put his hand on the back of his head. It hurt, that couldn't be denied. "It's okay, Princess. It was my fault, I was too pushy and you're right about this growing up." Zelda stood behind him. "I shouldn't have been so mean towards you. Let me take a look at that." Link held his hand where it was. "It's fine. It 'll go over." Zelda stepped to his side and looked at him. "Are you sure?" Link nodded. "You're very though, you know that?" Zelda said admiring. The young Princess didn't really have much friends. She was a bit shy and didn't go out much. Link was her best and closest friend and the two loved to spent time together. Link lived in the Kokiri Forest, south-east of Hyrule and Zelda lived in Hyrule Castle, north of Hyrule. Hyrule was but a small kingdom, ruled by Zelda's father, King Harkinian. Link was a Hylian and his parents had past away shortly after he was born, his father during the Great War and his mother right after she had brought him to Kokiri Forest, out of the reach of the flames of war. The Kokiri had taken him in and had raised him as one of their own. Link had noticed many differences between him and his friends, so he started to ask around. The Kokiri couldn't hide from him that he was a Hylian, so they had told him who he really was. "Do you stay for lunch?" Zelda asked him. "Sure!" Link said with his ever cheerfull voice.  
  
"Why do I always have to be the bad guy?" a little Kokiri boy said, placing his hands on his hips. "Because I have a sword and YOU really look evil, Mido." Link said, thinking it was a strong argument. "But that's not fair, Link." a Kokiri girl with green hair, called Saria, said. "Just because you have a sword, doesn't mean you can always play the hero." Link sighed. "Okay, okay. Then I'll play the bad guy..."  
  
"Then I'll be the hero!" a Lylatan called Fox, said. Lylatans weren't a common sight in Hyrule. It was a race which lived close to the Human lands, far from Hyrule. Lylatans were humanoids which resembled foxes found in the Human kingdoms. They had the heads of the creatures, but the bodyshape of Humans. Though their bodies were covered in the fur of the foxes. They grew up to be shorter than Hylians, but taller than Dwarves. The ten year old Fox McCloud, with his brown fur and his dancing tail, was a cheerfull young lad. Fox's parent's had moved to Hyrule because of the numerous wars which occurred in the Human lands. Fox was only child and he and Link were best pals ever since they had met each other. Link thought Fox was cool. "And why can't a girl be the hero for once?" a Hylian girl with long, red hair, almost reaching the back of her feet, called Malon, said. Mido, Link and Fox started to laugh. "A girl!?! That's ridiculous! Girls need to be rescued!" Mido yelled. "Oh yeah? Well sorry, boys. If you are so oldfashioned, then Malon and I won't play. Right, Malon?" Saria said, looking at the boys and then at Malon. The ranchgirl nodded. Malon was the daughter of Talon, a good, but lazy man. Talon owned the biggest ranch of Hyrule: Lon Lon ranch, named after the two Hylians. Malon loved animals and she was always cheerfull and a bit mischievous too. The two girls walked away without saying another word. "Girls." Link said, slowly shaking his head. "It's no fun if there isn't someone to be rescued." Fox said. He turned around to Link. "Can't you persuade the Princess to come and play? That would be cool!" Link shook his head. "She's probably reading or something. Perhaps even studying magic." Mido sighed. "Boy, she's boring. Always between her dull books. I don't know why she's trying to cast spells. She can't be a mage. Mages are old and have beards."  
  
"Zelda is very nice. And I've seen her using magic once." Link said proud. The other two boys groaned in surprise. "You have!?! What did she do?" Fox asked curiously. "She moved an object without touching it." Link answered. "Oh, boy! I'd love to see that. Do you think she can show us something?" Fox asked enthousiasticly. Link hesitated. There was no way Zelda would brag about her magic skills. She had shown him what she was capable of because he was her best friend. He felt a bit guilty that he had told his friends about it. "No, she was really exhausted when she did it, I don't think she risks her health by doing it again. Sorry." Link said, hoping it was enough to cool down his friends' tempers. "Like I said: She's boring." Mido said a bit angry. Link quickly wanted to change the subject. "Shall we play hide and seek?"  
  
"Okay. I'll seek." Fox said, a bit disapointed.  
  
Later that afternoon, Link decided to visit the Princess. The guards of the castle let him through, knowing he was a friend of Zelda. The King, however, didn't really like his daughter playing with a mere peasant. Harkinian was loyal to the ancient, Hylian laws and a princess playing with a boy who didn't even have a normal house or parents... No, that was a disgrace. Harkinian's wife had past away by a strange disease when Zelda had been really young. Zelda had never known her mother and Harkinian wanted to keep it that way. In the castle, Link asked Zelda's attendant, the Sheikah Impa, where Zelda was. The Sheikah were mysterious people. Champions in hiding and stealth. They were often employed as assasins or spies during wars, but Impa was, despite her appearance, a friendly woman. She cared for Zelda as if she was her own child and filled up Zelda's lost parent. The tall Sheikah woman liked Link. Zelda and he were close friends. But Impa knew that the two would grow up and their friendship would have to be broken in the future. Zelda's father was affraid that Zelda would spent too much time with Link and that would be terrible for the image of Hyrule's Royal Family. Impa told Link that Zelda was in her room. Link knew his way through the castle and found her room quickly. He opened the door slowly and saw Zelda sitting on her kingsize bed. It was way too big for her. She was wearing her royal dress and she was reading a book. She seemed to like that dress, since she wore it often. Link couldn't see what kind of book it was. She was too busy reading it to notice him, so Link silently walked to her bed. "What are you reading, Princess?" he asked suddenly. Zelda startled and looked up from her book, but as soon as she saw it was him, her young eyes lit up. "Hi, Link!" Link climbed up the bed and looked over Zelda's shoulder to see the contents of the book. It contained text and pictures. "It's called 'Sleeping Beauty', Link." Zelda said as Link saw a picture of a man with a cape kissing a woman who lay next to a spinning- wheel. "Hmph. A typical book for girls." Link said mocking. "I think it's a wonderfull story." Zelda sighed, staring at the picture. Zelda was a dreamer, Link knew her long enough to know that. She had a huge imagination and she didn't mind to tell Link about her thoughts. Link thought it was pretty weird, but he didn't mind. "So..." Link started, the picture fresh on his mind. "How 'bout a kiss?" Zelda sighed. "Link, don't start that again. It's a thing for grownups to do."  
  
"I know. I'm just teasing you." Link said with a big grin. "Shall we play a game?"  
  
"Zelda, this evening, a very important person is coming to discuss the possibility of a trade treaty. He is staying for supper and he is probably bringing his son with him. I want you to behave decently and put on a nice dress." the King told Zelda a few days later. "Yes, father." Zelda said polite. Father and daughter were in the dining-room, sitting on a wooden table and having dinner. "Oh, and try to keep that peasant friend of yours away." Zelda startled after her father had spoken these words. "Father, Link is my friend..." she tried. "I don't care, Zelda. I don't want him around when we have guests. I don't want you even mentioning him."  
  
"But..."  
  
"This discussion is over, young lady. Now be a good girl and finish your dinner."  
  
"Yes, father." Zelda said soft and sad. She obeyed her father. That was the way it was supposed to be.  
  
That evening, four people sat around the laid, wooden table. Zelda, her father, another king and his son, who was about the same age as Zelda. The King's name was Drosius and the son was called Alleston. They had come from a country which Zelda didn't know. But she thought it was odd that the man and his son had round ears and not the normal, pointed ears everyone had. Alleston sat next to Zelda and already, Zelda hated him. He was so full of himself. But she remained polite, just as her father had told her. He just kept bragging about how good he was at swordfighting. Suddenly, Zelda had enough of it. "I know someone who is as old as you and who is a better fighter." she said confident. Alleston started to laugh. "And who might that be?"  
  
"My friend, Link." Harkinian heard the name of the 'peasant boy', so he ceased his conversation with Drosius and turned to Zelda. "Zelda, I thought we had agreed that you wouldn't mention him here." the King said stern. Zelda looked down at her plate. She realised her mistake. She had disobeyed her father! "Look at me when I'm talking to you, young lady." Zelda slowly lifted her face and looked at her father. "A good princess needs to obey her father. Go to your room. No dessert for you." Zelda stood up and walked out of the room. Obedient. She ran up the stairs and entered her room. Impa was standing there. Zelda had been shocked by her father, but not surprised. Impa saw it. "What's up, your Majesty?" she asked as she closed the door and Zelda climbed up her bed. "I didn't listen to my father, Impa!" Zelda said, almost screaming. Impa didn't agree with the King's way of raising his daughter. The Sheikah wished Zelda's mother was still alive. She sat down next to Zelda and wrapped an arm around her young shoulders. "Come, Zelda. It's not THAT bad. What did you do?"  
  
"I... I mentioned Link's name in front of the other king." Zelda said ashamed. Impa sighed. This was nuts. Harkinian was actually trying to seperate Zelda from her only real friend. "That's not so bad, Zelda. Link is a good lad. I don't think there's any harm done by mentioning his name." Impa said comforting. "But father doesn't want people to know that I am playing with someone who is not of royalty." Zelda said sad. "What do you think?" Impa asked. Zelda hesitated for a moment. "I don't care, Impa. I just don't care!" Impa smiled. At least Zelda wasn't planning on breaking her friendship with Link. "Are you hungry?" Impa asked at a mischievous tone. Zelda nodded. She hadn't eaten much. "Then let's go to the kitchen and get ourselves something good, shall we?" Zelda wrapped her arms around Impa's midsection and hugged her tight. "Thank you, Impa." she said. She had been affraid that she would have to go to bed on an empty stomach and was glad that Impa was there to help her.  
  
Time. The fourth dimension. Time passes by without someone to make it stop. It just goes on without getting tired. Time can break you, but time can also heal you. Time makes people develop and time can make people disappear. Time passed by for the people in Hyrule and kids grew up. Their minds developped and their bodies grew. Time passed by in the form of seven years. A whole lifetime for a child, a matter of months for an adult.  
  
"Okay, Link. I admit it. You're not nuts. You're completely insane!" Navi said to Link, who stood at the top of a waterfall as the young man pulled his tunic over his head. Navi was a fairy. Fairies were small, winged humanoids. Navi wasn't bigger than Link's fist and her body gave so much light, that she looked like a glowing ball. Link had saved her once from a hungry wolf and in return, Navi had decided to join him. Though sometimes, Link really regretted it. "Here, hold this." Link said as he pulled his cap from his head and threw it with the opening down on Navi. It was way too heavy for her to carry, so the cap fell on the ground with Navi underneath it. She crawled from underneath it and flew up again, flying in front of Link's face. "Why have I decided to join you?" she asked sarcasticly. "I was just asking myself the same question." Link sighed. He grabbed his clothes and threw them down the waterfall, trying to throw them into the grass next to Lake Hylia. He missed his aim and the clothes fell in the water and sunk to the bottom. "Crap. Now I have to get those too." Lake Hylia was the largest lake in Hyrule and it lay southwest of the land. Link waved to the girl who was sitting in the gras with her feet in the water. She waved back. "You're only doing this to impress her?" Navi asked. "Well..." Link started as he walked to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the water which reflected the afternoon sunrays. "Everybody's got to die sometime." Navi startled. "What do you mean by that?" Link took one deep breath and spread his arms. He jumped down with a bow, making his head face the water. He felt a strange feeling in his stomach and he closed his eyes as he waited for himself to hit the water. With a large splash, he hit the surfaceline and sunk deep. The girl at the side held her breath in exitement. A few seconds later, Link breached the surfaceline again and got himself a breath of fresh air. But he immediatly dove again and after a little while he emerged at the place where the girl sat, holding his tunic and his cap in one hand. He bowed to the girl as she started to applause. The girl wore a simple, cotton dress with short sleeves. She had long, blonde hair which hung decently combed along her back. Her blue eyes shone in admiration. "Thank you, your Highness." Link said cheerfull. He pulled on a white shirt, which sat in the wet tunic and which he always wore underneath the green piece of clothing, and then, he pulled on the the tunic. He put his cap back on his head and put the belt around his midsection to keep his tunic in place. The white leggings he wore reached all the way down to his feet and he pulled on the large, brown boots which lay next to Zelda. "You're really brave, Link." Zelda said in awe of his courage. "No, he's an idiot!" Navi yelled as she flew next to the Hylian Princess. "You're crazy, you know that? You could have broken your neck or hit the rocks! It's irresponisble and dumb too. And all that risk just to show off to that Hylian over there!"  
  
"Navi, please." Link sighed. Zelda giggled. Navi and Link were like water and fire. She was surprised how long the two had hold out together. Suddenly, Link heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes next to the lake. He took his sword from the sheath that lay next to Zelda and put his finger on his lips while facing her to let her know she had to be quiet. He slowly walked towards the bushes as the sound stopped. Link saw what had created the sound and stood up straight again as he started to laugh. "My, that's one ugly beast!" he said as Fox emerged from the bushes. He wore a leather armor with short sleeves, green, cotton trousers and brown boots. He held a spear in his hand. Fox was a master in using the weapon. Just like Link, he had started to learn to fight at an early age, but he preferred the spear above the sword. "Funny. I came to ask you if you were up for a little fight..." Then Fox noticed Zelda. He bowed to her and said: "Good day, your Highness."  
  
"Hi, Fox." Zelda said cheerfull. "You mean there's work?" Link asked curious. Fox turned to Link again. "Yes. I'm just back from the baracks and it seems that the son of a rich baron has been kidnapped and the bad guys are asking ransom. Are you up for it?" Link and Fox earned their money by bounty hunting. They had started it a year ago and now, they were well known for their skills. "Of course. Do the bad guys have to remain alive or not?" Link and Fox had killed a lot in their lives. Link thought his first kill had been the hardest, but, just like Fox, he had a strong sense of righteousness and if people got killed by the two, they had a good reason to get killed. "Doesn't matter." Fox said. "Good." Link said, right before he turned to Zelda. "Zelda, would you mind if I go earn some money?" he said grinning. "Not at all, Link. Do you guys need Uni?" Zelda said, pointing a thumb at the Unicorn which stood behind her. Unicorns weren't a common sight in Hyrule. Wanted for their horn, the horse-like animals had almost been hunted to extinction. Link had caught one for Zelda's sixteenth birthday and Zelda was incredibly proud of the beautifull, white animal. Not to mention proud of Link. Fox shook his head. "Thank you, your Majesty, but that won't be necessary. It's close by." Link turned to Fox. "You mean we don't have to look for them?" Fox again shook his head. "The only problem is, it's well-defended. It's going to be one tough nut to crack." Zelda startled, but didn't show it. "Be carefull, guys." Zelda said as she stood up. "Hey, hey , hey! What about me?" Navi said angry. "You can go with Zelda. I don't want you in my way... I mean... in harms way." Link tried as Fox chuckled. Link quickly grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows from the ground as Navi gave Link an angry look.  
  
"Holy shit! It's a fortress!" Link whispered as he and Fox hid in a pair of bushes, next to a well-defended camp. A wooden pallisade was build around a couple of tents. In the center of it stood a wooden tower. Fox pointed at it. "There are archers in that tower, spotting the entire area. If they see us, we'll get the entire camp up our behinds. But that's not the worst. They got a clear shot from up there and we won't even have a chance of fighting the guards that come running towards us."  
  
"So, you've got a plan, right?" Link said. "Well, not exactly." Fox said hesitating. "Great. I guess I'll just have to take those archers out with my bow and then we kill the others, right?"  
  
"Yeah, that'll do it." Fox said as Link put an arrow on his bow. The sheath of his sword hung on his back and Fox held his spear in his hand. He pulled the string of the weapon backwards as he held the arrow at the back. He put his left eye close to the bow and closed his right eye. "You better hit him, buddy." Fox mentioned. "Shut up, Fox. I'm trying to concentrate." Link murmered. He saw two archers in the tower. He released the string and with a soft sound, the arrow flew away from the bow and towards it's target. With the sound of tearing flesh, the pointy object ran through one of the archer's neck and a part of it shot out on the other end, decorating a part of the internals of the tower with an unhealthy, red mark. The arrow remained in the man's neck as he collapsed on the ground. "Jeez. man! You're good with that." Fox said. The two friends heard the other archer sound the alarm. Link grabbed another arrow from the quiver next to him and shot at the second man. Link shot quicker than the other time and the arrow struck the man in his shoulder. Be cause he stood close to one of the poles of the tower, the arrow nailed him to it. The man screamed in pain. "Darn." Link murmered. The Hylian always wanted to take out his enemy as clean as possible. Quick and, possibly, painless. But sometimes there was no time for chivalry. "Don't bother. He's dissabled. Get your sword ready." Fox said as he patted Link on his back. Right after Fox had said it, a group of six men came running out of the camp, all armed with swords. Link dropped his bow and drew his sword. "You're up for it, Fox?" he asked, knowing it was a stupid comment. "Always." Fox said as the two slowly walked out of the bushes. As soon as the men saw them, their leader, a large, bald man with a rough, black beard, made a gesture to his men that they had to stop. "Very clever." Link said, trying to impress the men. "I believe you guys are holding someone prisoner?" Link stated. The leader started to laugh. "And let me guess. You are the rescue party, am I right?" The men behind him started to laugh as well. "A kid and his domestic animal." Fox did a step forward, but Link grabbed his shoulder. Fox's eyes narrowed. "Let the prisoner go or we free him ourselves." he said threatening. "Listen, I want you and your pet pal to go, or else the punishment will be severe." the man said to Link, completely ignoring Fox. "My friend doesn't like to be ignored and we're not leaving without the boy." Link said. The man grinned. "Fine. Suit yourself." He pointed at two of his men. "You and you. Kill them." Two rough looking men started to walk to Fox and Link. "Can I have the right, Fox? You know I'm left handed." Link said. "Of course, Link. But stay a bit away from me, or I might hit you as well." Fox said, twirling his spear with one hand. "I know. Remember that guy?"  
  
"What guy?"  
  
"The one without his hand." Link said as one of the men slashed at him with his sword. Link neatly caught the blade with his own weapon. "Hey, that was your fault." Fox said as he ducked to avoid the second man's sword. "My fault? He was in the way and YOU did that to him." Link said, exchanging blows with his opponent. Fox, still ducking, turned his body around and hit his opponent with the back of his spear in his stomach. The turn made it one hard blow and the man groaned as he stumbled backwards. "It was an accident. You gave him that push." Fox said as he stood up straight again. "Do you think he'll forgive us?" Link said as he saw the blade of his opponent approaching him. He caught the blade with his own weapon and quickly turned around as he moved his blade down a bit and, as soon as he had completed his turn, he cut the man's stomach open before the villain could even react. Fox's opponent was still not recovered from the Lylatan's blow and Fox decided to finish him. He hit the man with the back of his spear against his chin and, as the tug stumbled backwards, Fox twirled his spear in his hand, a movement which was followed by a strong stab which Fox performed with one hand. This time, Fox used the sharp edge of the spear and the weapon ran through the man's chest. As Fox moved his spear back again, blood poured out of the man's mouth and he fell on the ground without making another sound. Fox had stabbed him straight through his heart. Fox turned to Link again and saw the Hylian's opponent lying on the ground with his belly cut open and everything that belonged in there was busy coming out. "Jeez, Link! Showoff..." Fox said. Link put his free hand on his chin. "Hmm. Yes. Quite messy..." He turned to the leader of the brigands and said: "We don't want to shed too much blood. How 'bout my friend against you and the winner can have the prisoner?" Link didn't really expect them to accept the challenge, but he wanted to return home. He was a bit tired from the swimming that day. But the bald man was completely convinced that he could win from 'Link's pet' and he accepted the challenge. Link patted Fox on his back. "Teach him a lesson, Fox." Fox smiled mean and stepped forward. "Today, I am going to kill me a doggy!" the tall man said, ignoring the death of two of his men. "That's a fox, you dumbwit!" Fox said as the two fighters started to circle around each other. The man hacked vertically towards Fox, but the Lylatan was quick and grabbed his spear with two hands and blocked the attack. The man tried it again by slashing at Fox's side. But also this time, Fox was too quick. He skilfully parried the man's blows with his spear by using two hands. Then, Fox quickly ducked, made a full turn and hacked the man on his knee with the wooden part of the spear. The leader of the rogues made a clumsy fall. Fox waited for him to stand up, not willing to end the fight that way. The man stood up and charged towards Fox with a cry. Fox jumped a little up in the air, raised his feet and made a spin as he put his spear on the ground for support. Fox' feet hit the man hard in his face and the tall Hylian stumbled backwards as he made a groaning sound. Fox landed neatly back on his feet and pulled his weapon out of the earth again. The man got furious. He jumped towards Fox and though it wasn't really a high jump, Fox could use it. The Lylatan let himself fall on his back and right when the two would collide, Fox raised his spear and caught the brigand with the sharp edge of it. The man's eyes widened and he made gargling sounds as Fox rolled backwards. The man was forced to follow Fox, since the Lylatan's spear was in his chest. With an elegant bow, the man flew through the air and when he almost hit the ground, Fox gave his spear a trust and the man flew off the weapon and a little bit further, this time followed by a stream of blood. Fox finished his roll and stood up as the man hit the ground behind the Lylatan. He never got up again. Link walked to the man and cleaned his sword with the shirt of the brigand. He sheathed his sword, patted Fox on his back and said: "Nice work. Let's collect our reward and head home."  
  
Link climbed up his treehouse and entered it. The sun stood low above the horizon and the forest cast strange shadows. His treehouse looked like usual: a mess. Pieces of clothing were scattered throughout the small room. Saria had often wondered how someone who had almost nothing could make such a mess of his room. The Kokiri children had asked him if he would come and play with them, but that was the last thing he wanted. Besides Saria, every Kokiri treated him like a ten year old and not like the seventeen year old he was. But Saria was a special Kokiri, it seemed. She looked like a child, but she was wise beyond her years. Link noticed the girl who was lying on his bed, sleeping. He recognised her immediatly. It was Zelda. What was she doing here? And above that, what would she as a princess have thought about his room? He tiptoed to his bed and watched her sleep. He had to admit that she was beautifull. Her head rested on her arm and her long hair seemed to be all around her. She wore a simple, cotton peasant dress. She usually wore it. It resembled her modest character just perfectly. Link gently grabbed her shoulder. "You're in the wrong bed, your Highness." he said chuckling. Zelda made a moaning sound and started to move. She turned to him and opened her eyes. She startled and immediatly sat up straight. "Link... I... I must have fallen asleep... I'm sorry, I..." she started. "No need to apologise, princess. I didn't know my bed was that comfortable." Zelda closed her eyes for a second and said: "Well, it was late yesterday and I'm not really used to all that walking through Hyrule." Link smiled. It was hard to see thanks to the absense of light in his small home. Zelda stood up and said: "I came here with a question, Link. I know it's impolite to sneak into your house, but..." Link walked to a candle and picked it up. He held it in front of Zelda. "It's not impolite, Zelda. I bet you didn't come sneaking in here like an ordinairy thief, am I right?" Zelda looked away from him for a moment. Link could see that she was nervous. "You're right. I asked Saria." she said. "Ehm... Could you light this?" Link asked, still holding tha candle. "Sure." Zelda said. She looked at the candle and her eyes narrowed. Link could see that she was concentrating. She snapped her finger and the candle lit up, lightening up Link's treehouse. "You keep amazing me, Zelda." Link said as he put the candle back on the drawer. "But what brings you here?" he said as he motioned Zelda to sit back on his bed. Zelda sat down a bit uncomfortable. Link grinned. Zelda had grown up to be an incredibly polite girl. Decent and modest, but at the same time scared. Scared of the unknown and the world outside of the castle. She could be easily used or abused by someone. She somehow reminded Link sometimes of the little girl she had been when the two had met for the first time in the forest. "Well, I wanted to ask you something, Link. You know that tomorrow, a ball is going to be held. A few friends of father are coming. I believe they're going to discuss some political matters or something. But what I wanted to ask, is..." Zelda paused for a moment, hesitated and continued. "Would you like to come to the ball? Then, I would have someone... familiar around." She had said it too fast and looked down in shame. "Is that no problem with your father?"  
  
"He wants to pretend that you're the son of a baron or something. It took a lot of efford to persuade father, though. But Impa helped me." Zelda said hopefull. "Well, I don't know. There is going to be a party at Malon's ranch tomorrow and Fox, Malon and I were planning on going there." Link said softly. "Oh... Well... That's okay... I'll live." she said with a nervous chuckle. She tried to smile, but she couldn't hide her disapointment from him. "I'm sorry, Zelda. Perhaps another time."  
  
"Yes... Perhaps..." she murmered, but not softly enough. She realised Link had heard it and startled. "I'm sorry. I better get going." She wanted to stand up, but Link interrupted her. "It's getting dark, Zelda. And then it's not safe out there in the fields. You can stay here for the night if you want." Link didn't want his friend to risk her life, since that was what it was, but he didn't feel like escorting her home. He was too tired. Zelda's eyes lit up. "I can?" she asked surprised. Link shrugged his shoulders. "Sure. Then you can use my bed."  
  
"But what about you?" Zelda asked. "I'll sleep outside. I'm used to that and then you have some privacy." Zelda wouldn't mind to share her privacy with Link. She was secretly deeply in love with him, but she didn't want anyone to know it, especially not her father. But she had already figured that she wasn't the only one. Link was handsome, brave, sweet... everything a girl could possibly dream of. And above that, what would a perfect guy like Link have to do with a dull, spoiled, lonely princess? Indeed, nothing. And though she had her thoughts and dreams about him, she knew that she didn't stand a chance. But it was okay for a person to dream, right? No harm done. Sometimes, it made her sad. She always pictured a perfect wedding with him and everything that followed, but it would never last long. She always realised that it would never happen and it sometimes made her cry. It would never happen. Never. She swallowed and her eyes got wet. Link noticed it. "Your Highness, what's the matter?" he asked. "Nothing, Link. Thank you for your concern, but it'll go over." Link frowned. "O well. If you don't want to talk about it... Will you stay for the night?" Link asked, trying to change the subject before it would even start. "Sure, Link. Thank you." Zelda said, already knowing that she would have to face her furious father when she would return to the castle. But it was worth it.  
  
Link was sitting in front of his treehouse, trying to keep warm and get some sleep. Zelda was already asleep, that's what he had seen. Suddenly, Navi came flying towards him. "Link, I've got to talk to you." she said as she flew in front of him. Link looked at her. He vaguely saw her flying with her hands in her sides. Apparently, she had been staying in his treehouse all the time. She could sometimes hide in such strange places. "Navi, two words. Buzz off." Link said irritated. "Not before I've had a serious word with you." Navi said, almost angry. Link was surprised by her tone. "What do you mean?" Navi flew closer to Link's head and put a tiny finger on his forehead. "I think it's unfair the way you treat Zelda." Link's eyes grew wider. "What in Din's name are you talking about?" Like so many cultures, also the Hylian's had their gods. Better said: Their goddesses. Din: The goddess of Power, Farore: The goddess of Courage and Nayru: The goddess of Wisdom. "The ball." Navi said as low as possible. "What? Because I don't go to some dull ball, I immediatly treat Zelda badly? And above that, I have already agreed with Fox that we'd go to the party at Malon's."  
  
"Link, listen to me! Malon has plenty of friends. Zelda has just one true friend: You." Navi said as she crossed her tiny arms in front of her chest. Link sighed. "Is that my fault?" he asked stuborn. "Link!" Navi said angry. "Okay, okay. Perhaps you're right. There are more parties then there are balls."  
  
"Come on, Link. Do it for Zelda." Navi said at a far more friendly tone. "Well... okay. It could get fun with all those arrogant nobles around. I'll ask Fox if he'll come too. Perhaps he's in for a laugh." Link said with a grin. Navi chuckled. "And you're not doing it for Zelda, right?"  
  
"Well, also for Zelda. She's a sweet girl and a good friend and if that makes her happy..." Inside the treehouse, Zelda wasn't asleep at all. She had heard everything and she couldn't believe her ears. Link thought she was a sweet girl! Perhaps...! No... That was impossible...  
  
"Goodmorning, mister McCloud. Is Fox up yet?" Link asked polite to a Lylatan of about his height. "Goodmorning, Link. I believe Fox is awake. Please come in." the fox-like man said. James McCloud was Fox's father. He was a soldier in the Hylian army and was an expert at weapons. Link entered a decent house. When James was off duty, he acted as a blacksmith, which made quite some money and the nice furniture in the house resembled that. James McCloud and his family lived in Castle Town. As the name of the town implied, it lay right in front of Hyrule Castle. It was the biggest city in Hyrule. That morning, Link had told Zelda that he would go to the ball with her. He hadn't failed to notice how happy she was. Link had walked Zelda back to the castle and, now that he was there, he could immediatly ask Fox wether he'd go to the ball or not. James took a seat in a chair and picked up a sword which had been lying next to the chair. He grabbed some tools and started to sharpen up the blade with a profesional accuracy. "What are you doing, mister McCloud?" Link asked polite. "I intend to sell some weapons in at the market this afternoon, Link. They have to look at their best to bring in the most money. I'm just polishing some of my work." James answered. Apparently, Fox's mother wasn't at home. "'Morning, Link." Fox said as he came walking down the stairs, dressed in his usual garb. "Goodmorning, my friend." Link replied after he had turned around to him. "You're early, man. What brings you here?" Fox asked as he walked to Link. "Well, Zelda has slept in my bed, so I thought I'd pay you a visit while..." Fox blinked a couple of times with his eyes. "You mean you've slept with the Princess of Hyrule!?!" he asked, yelling in disbelief. Fox's father heard it and turned his head to the two friends. Link raised his eyebrows. "Of course not! I slept outside of my house, you moron!" Fox sighed in relief and James continued polishing the weapon. "Ehm... Fox... You know about the party at the ranch tonight?" Link started. "Yeah. What about it?" Fox asked. "I'm kind of not going to be there..."  
  
"Oh." Fox said without any surprise in his voice. "And why's that?"  
  
"Well, tonight, there's going to be a ball at the castle and I promised Zelda that I'd be there. Then, she'll have someone familiar around. And besides, it could get fun with all those nobles around." Link chuckled. Fox held his reply for a few seconds. Then, he said: "I know you and Zelda are close friends, Link. And I think you're doing the right thing, but Malon won't be pleased." Link made a nonchalant gesture with his hand. "Malon is a good girl, but she sometimes drives me nuts. Trying to seduce me all the time and all that crap. But... Are you considering of joining me?"  
  
"What!?!" Fox reacted. "To some dull ball? No way!"  
  
"You know that a lot of people from all over the world are coming, right?"  
  
"Don't try to talk me into it, Link."  
  
"Perhaps a few Lylatans..."  
  
"Shut up, Link!"  
  
"Perhaps even a hot, Lylatan Princess..."  
  
"I'm not going." The two remained silent for a moment. Link waited for his comment to penetrate Fox's mind. "Ehm... What did you say about that Lylatan princess?" Fox asked, which was followed by the laughter of his best friend and his father. No one could have forseen that the two friends, by going to the ball, would bring such disaster to the land of Hyrule.  
  
Zelda was sitting in her room, combing her hair in front of a drawer on which a grand mirror was positioned. She had put on the dress she liked most. The upper part of it was light purple and the lower part was white. The purple part continued over the lower part on the front, untill about halfway of it. Around her middle, she wore a girdle made of gold. The high, white collar of the dress was open on the front, revealing a part of her slender neck. The dress itself had no sleeves, but she wore white, silken gloves which reached completely up her arms, but leaving a bit open, about halfway of her upper arms. She wore a crown which looked like a golden diadem. It rested against her forehead and a brilliant, red diament sat in the middle of it. She wore golden earrings in the shape of three triangles which made one big triangle, leaving the center of it open. It was the crest of the Royal Family of Hyrule. The three parts resembled Power, Courage and Wisdom and together, it was called the Triforce. Zelda had put on a little bit of makeup. She looked at herself in the mirror and put down the comb. There had been more balls at the castle, but she had never gone through such lengths to look pretty. But Link was coming this time! There was just one problem: Zelda's father. Zelda had lied to Link. She had never told her father about the idea of having Link come to the ball. Proud Harkinian would never allow it. But with all those nobles around, he wouldn't dare to say anything about it, or at least that was what Zelda hoped. Evening had already come and many of the guests had already arrived that afternoon. The preperations for the ball had taken days, but they had been completed that morning. Zelda had to lie towards her father about where she had been the night before. She had said that she had fallen asleep under a tree. Sometimes, the young princess praised herself lucky about her father not knowing her too well. Impa had seen that Zelda had been lying, but Zelda didn't care. Impa was allowed to know it. The Sheikah had thought it was rather funny. Zelda sighed. She couldn't wait for Link to arrive. As she thought of him, her thoughts drifted away and she started to think how it would be to lie in his arms under the stars.  
  
"Invitations, please." a soldier asked Link and Fox at the gate of Hyrule Castle. Fox looked at Link. "Invitations?" Link asked at a tone which sounded almost funny. "Yes. Invitations. You know, a card with words on it saying you can come." the guard said sarcastically. "Why would WE need invitations?" Link asked. "To get in." the man answered. Link realised that the soldier had to be a new guy. Link and Fox didn't really look like royalty. Link wore his usual Kokiri-like clothes with his sword sheathed on his back and Fox wore the clothes he had been wearing all day, with his spear held against his back with his belt. "Let them in, rookie. Or you could lose your job." another soldier said, who came walking to the scene. "They're close friends of Princess Zelda." he explained. The guard startled. "You mean..." he asked as soon as the other soldier stood next to him. "Yes, these men are Link and Fox." the soldier explained more. He turned to the two friends. "You can pass, lads."  
  
"Thanks, Tuldor." Link said, knowing the man. He walked past the guard and into the castle. Fox stopped in front of the new soldier and grinned. He patted him on his upper arm and said: "You're doing a hell of a good job. Keep it up." Having said these words, Fox followed his friend into the castle as Tuldor started to laugh. Link and Fox walked through the courtyard, which consisted of a beautifull garden, and walked to the main building. When they entered it, they entered a huge room: The throne room. It was filled with guests from all over the world. Tables stood along the walls, laid with exotic food and drinks. The place was lit with candles and on the right of the large door, there was a huge staircase, which made a turn as it went to the royal chambers. Link saw several soldiers standing here and there, guarding the place. "Wow." was all that Fox could say. The two friends walked further in the chamber. Link had been in the castle more before, but the King had made some work out of the ball and it impressed him. Link looked around for Zelda, but he couldn't find her. "Excuse me." a female voice said from behind Fox. "Would you like a drink?" When Fox turned around, he couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him stood a Lylatan girl, dressed in simple clothes, holding a plate with glasses on it. The girl was shorter and slimmer than Fox and had more delicate features. For as far as a Lylatan could have them. Link noticed the way the two Lylatans looked at each other and he grinned. "So... I'll leave you two alone..." he said, but Fox didn't even notice it. He walked away from them, searching for a sign of Zelda. Then, he saw her. She stood close to one of the tables, talking to a woman Link didn't know. He was astonished. She looked... fantastic! She also noticed him and quickly said something to the other woman before she walked to him, giving him a warm smile. "Hi, Link!" she said cheerfull, glad to see him. "Hi, Zelda. You look..." Link said, searching for the words to describe her. "...really great." he said, not wanting to say too much. "Thank you, Link." Zelda said soft, blushing a little.  
  
"That's her. The blonde one who is talking to the guy with the green cap." a man with dark hair and a fringe in the same color, wearing royal clothes said to a red haired man in black armor with a red cape. "Is that the one? She doesn't really look dangerous to me."  
  
"Don't judge the book by it's cover, Ganondorf. Are the men ready?" The red haired man nodded. "They're awaiting your signal, my liege."  
  
"Good. We wait for the right moment."  
  
"Can you REALLY eat this or is it just for decoration?" Link said, holding something which had been lying on one of the tables, examining the piece of food. "I don't know." Zelda said chuckling. "Well, if even you don't know it, then I suppose I'd better not try it." Link said with a grin on his face. Suddenly, a couple of men with instruments started to play in the corner of the throne room. As if by order, people started to move away from the center of the room as some invited others to dance. Zelda looked at the scene in the middle of the room. She would do ANYTHING to dance with Link. Just one time. "So..." Link awakened her from her thoughts. "Want to... dance with me, princess?" Zelda looked at him in amazement. What was that he said? He wanted to... "If you don't want to, then it's fine with me." Link said a bit ashamed over the fact that Zelda didn't respond. "No, no. I would love to dance with you, Link." the young princess said quickly. "Thank you, fair lady, for granting me this honor." Link said as he bowed exagerated. What was he doing? He just had a few lessons in dancing from Fox's mother and now he planned to test his 'skills'? But he knew Zelda wouldn't mind if he would fail. She was a sweet girl and Link liked her. A lot more than he showed. Zelda chuckled from his move and Link grabbed her carefully at her arm and the two walked to the middle of the throne-room. Link wrapped his arm around the princess' waist and held her free hand with his own. Zelda carefully put her hand on his shoulder. It all felt like a dream to her, especially his arm around her. She was nervous. As the two started to dance, Link noticed that it wasn't all too hard. And the longer he danced with her, the easier it went. For Zelda, it turned out to be the best evening of her life. She always hoped Link would dance with her and now it happened! And he danced wonderfull. When the two stopped, they kept staring at each other.  
  
"Alright. We move." the dark man said and he raised his hand in the air. Immediatly, some servants pulled out a small crossbow and fired them at the Hylian soldiers. The attack was perfectly planned and there was one arrow for each soldier. It was a complete surprise and in a matter of seconds, the soldiers were taken out. The people startled as they heard the cries of the dying soldiers who fell on the ground or simply collapsed with small darts sticking out of their chests. People started to scream as chaos errupted in the royal crowd. Link and Zelda broke from their trance. Despite the chaos, Link automaticly drew his sword. It had become a second nature. He heard a low voice above all other voices. "Calm now, people. Or we are forced to kill more." As if by magic means, it got a bit more quiet. Some people were still screaming, though. "Kill one of them." the dark man ordered Ganondorf. "With pleasure, my Lord." the red haired man said with an evil smile on his face. He closed his eyes and concentrated. When he opened his eyes again, he pointed his hand towards a middle aged woman. Immediatly, a dozen of small, wooden spikes shot forward from his hand and struck the woman at various places. Her head, neck, chest, arms and legs got struck. She wanted to scream, but she was dead before she had time to do so and the impact of the nails made her fall backwards. Some people screamed out of horror, but others silenced them immediatly. Zelda had seen it too and she startled. Unlike Link, Zelda had never witnessed someone's death in her life. And this was a pretty hard experience for the young Hylian. Link used his free hand to shove her back to protect her, should the men decide to pull another stunt like that off again. "Sick bastards." he murmered. When it got quiet, except for a few crying women, the dark man started to speak. "Ah, good. See that it isn't so tough to cooperate? You just need the good motivation. Now, it would be very impolite of me not to introduce myself. I am Vulgar and this is my loyal servant Ganondorf. We haven't come here to enjoy the food or the music. We have come here for a reason." He started to walk around, searching. People stepped aside to give him room. Then, he saw Link and Zelda and he walked towards them. "We are here to take the Princess of Hyrule with us." Zelda looked at the man in horror and she looked away from him. Vulgar walked around Link and he grabbed Zelda's chin and made her look at him. "Don't worry, my dear. You're going to have such a good time." He had failed to notice Link holding his sword behind his back.  
  
In the mean time, Fox stood behind a pillar. His newly found Lylatan girlfriend stood behind him. "This is awfull." she said. "It looks like Link is again getting his arse into trouble. Stay here, Elwynn. I've got to help him." Fox said. "Be carefull, Fox." the Lylatan girl whispered as Fox silently sneaked towards one of the false servants who stood a little bit away from the scene with Vulgar. The man stood with his back towards Fox and the Lylatan quickly grabbed the man at his throat. He used two hands to quickly turn the man's head in an unhealthy angle and the man collapsed on the ground with a broken neck.  
  
"You'd better back away, pal." Link said threatening to Vulgar. "Well, well. And what do we have here?" Vulgar asked to nobody. He backed away from Zelda and turned to Link. "Someone with a backbone?" Vulgar quickly grabbed Link at his collar. "Let's see if I can rip it out of you, shall we?" he said with a low, dark voice. Link quickly put the tip of his sword against Vulgar's jaw. "You won't be the first I kill..." Link murmered as he noticed Vulgar's men aiming their crossbows at him. The Hylian quickly ducked as the men fired at him and instead of hitting their foe, they hit their lord. Vulgar collapsed on the ground without making another sound. "...and you will most certainly not be the last!" Link yelled. "Come on, Fox. I could use a little help in here!" Because of Link's actions, chaos returned to the throne-room and people started to scream. Ganondorf startled from the sudden death of his lord. Link raced towards the fake servant who stood closest to him. He jumped as high as he could and, as he made a somersault, he hacked down on the man, tearing open a part of his clothes, his skin and his flesh, also hitting some vital organs. Link landed nicely on his feet, but the man stumbled backwards as his body turned and he fell down clumsy, spilling blood in a wide area. At the same time, Fox kicked a second crossbowman in his stomach. It was a move which was followed by a kick on the man's back by the Lylatan who was using his other leg as he leaned on his spear for support. The man fell on his knees and hands as he dropped his crossbow and started to cough. "Surrender?" Fox asked. The man simply nodded, knowing that there was nothing he could do. Fox turned his back to him in search of other enemies in the crowd which tried to get out of the room. The fake servant quickly grabbed his crossbow and aimed it at Fox. "You are one dumb animal..." the man said grinning. Fox realised his naive mistake and quickly ran to one of the pillars which supported the roof of the throne-room. He jumped against the stone pillar and grabbed the flag which hang on the balcony with his free hand as the piece of fabric started to tear in half as soon as the Lylatan hang on it. The man looked in owe as Fox, thanks to the tearing of the flag, flew towards him. "At least I don't shoot people in their backs!" were the last words the man would ever hear, spoken by the Lylatan who, moments later, stabbed his spear through the man's throat. The power of Fox's move made the man fall backwards as Fox let go of the flag and his spear in order to land neatly on his feet. Fox landed a bit clumsy, however and he had to make a roll to stand up straight. He saw the man lying next to him with open eyes, a spear sticking out of his throat and blood pulsating out of his neck. As the throne-room got emptier by the second, Link gained more and more insight on the situation. He saw there were two enemies left: Ganondorf and one fake servant. There was no sign of king Harkinian. Zelda stood in the middle of the room, impressed by Link's actions. Link also saw Fox pulling his spear out of a body. Ganondorf and the servant stood next to each other, not knowing what to do. Link and Fox joined Zelda and the two groups stood opposite of each other. "Want some more?" Link asked the two men. "You have killed my lord..." Ganondorf said sighing. "Yes, now that you mention it..." Link said as he noticed royal guards who came running in the throne-room. "Well, well. Just in time to be too late." Fox said as he put his hands in his sides. Ganondorf made use of the distraction by quickly running to his former lord's body. The three young people turned around, wondering what was going to happen. "You have no idea how horrible his vengeance will be!" Ganondorf yelled as he pointed his finger towards each of the three friends. "Well, technically speaken... He's dead, so I don't really worry about his vengeance, my good man." Link said mocking. Ganondorf bent forward and picked the motionles body of Vulgar up. "I'll be looking forward to see your blood on the wall, boy." he said threatening towards Link. Suddenly, there was a bright flash at the place where Ganondorf stood. Everybody in the room had to turn away not to get blinded by it. When they looked back again, Ganondorf and Vulgar were gone.  
  
"Oh, Link. I heard about the thing at the ball, I was SO worried about you. Are you alright?" Malon said as she, much to Link's dismay, hugged him tight. Link gently tried to push her away as he answered her question. "Malon, I'm fine. I'm glad for your concern." he said, slightly sighing, but at the same time not willing to be impolite. The 'couple' stood right outside of the castle. Apparantly, the news had gone fast. "Aren't you supposed to be at the party at your ranch?" Link asked the red-haired girl. "But it's SO boring without you around, Link." Malon answered as she played with his hair on the back of his head. Link didn't like it at all. He pushed her away and she reluctantly let him go. Link didn't know where Fox had gone to, but he had a slight idea. "I'm sorry about not showing up at your party, Malon. But..."  
  
"No need to apologise, Link. I understand." she said with a soft smile. Despite her flirting with him, Link thought Malon was a sweet girl. She lived a completely different life than Zelda and she loved people around her. Cheerfull. If there was one word to describe her, it would have to be that word. "Hi, Link." Zelda, who stood behind him, said. Link turned around to her and said strikingly: "Jeez, Zel. You startled me." Zelda giggled a bit shy, but restored and said: "I just spoke with father and he would like to offer you a job, Link." She said it enthusiasticly. Link raised his eyebrow. "A job? What kind of job?" Zelda held her answer for a moment, not knowing whether she'd say it or not. "Well, to be my personal bodyguard." she said softly, as if she was affraid to say it, and she was. Link frowned and said: "You mean like catching arrows for you and follow you anywhere you go?" Zelda bit her underlip. Link's statement made clear what he thought about it. "Well, if you don't want it, then..." she started, but Link interrupted her. "I'll take it." Zelda's face immediatly lit up. "It sounds like an exciting job to me." Again, Zelda had lied to Link. She hadn't told her father anything, less asked him. The King didn't even know that Link had been at the ball, for he had been the first who had left the throne-room during the attack. Zelda wasn't really affraid that her father would find out about Link being his daughter's personal bodyguard. He rarely, bordering never, spent time with his daughter, not even during supper. She didn't really need a personal bodyguard either, since she rarely got out of the castle and there were always soldiers around her. She just wanted Link to hold her company and she felt a bit ashamed about it, but she would grab hold of every situation just to get close to him. "So... when do I start?" Link said a bit anxious. One way or the other, he liked to spent his time with her, just like he had done when they were just kids. But it was a different kind of emotion that thrived him to be with her than the emotion he experienced in his childhood. He had to be honest with himself, it was a very uncomfortable feeling, but at the same time, it was a good feeling. "Whenever you're ready." Zelda answered, hoping it would be that very moment. "It's late, Zel. I'll go home and start tomorrow, okay?" Link said. Zelda smiled in approvement. As Link and Zelda talked, Malon looked furiously at Zelda. How did that princess dare to try to take Link away from her? She was actually using her power to get what she wanted! Malon knew that Zelda liked Link. She wasn't blind. But fortunately, Link could impossibly like a loser such as Zelda. He was just being polite to her. And perhaps she could help fate a little... At that moment, Zelda couldn't have forseen that, in the not too distant future, she would be in need of a personal bodyguard. Badly.  
  
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" Saria yelled cheerfull as she opened the curtains of Link's treehouse. The sunrays, which cast through the window, shone on Link's face and he welcomed them with an irritated groan. He turned around in his bed to get away from the light and didn't show any signs of getting up. "Beat it, Saria." he murmered. The Kokiri girl walked to Link and bent a little forward. "You're late for work!" she shout in his ear. Link immediatly sat up straight and grabbed his pillow, looking at Saria as if she was the most annoying thing on earth. Saria quickly backed away as Link threw his pillow in her direction. When the object was about to hit her, she ducked and it hit the candle on Link's drawer, knocking it off of the piece of furniture. The loud noice woke up Navi, who had been sleeping under a napkin, next to the candle. Link jumped out of bed and ran towards Saria. "If I'll get you..." he said threatening. Saria didn't wait to receive Link's wrath, so she quickly ran out of his house and climbed down the ladder. Link didn't feel like chasing the green-haired girl, so he walked back in his house and grabbed his clothes. He left his treehouse and went to a small stream near it. He quickly washed himself and got dressed. Right after his conversation with Zelda, he had planned to go home and sleep, since he didn't want to start too late. But planning is there to fail and he had met up with Fox again and they had decided that it wouldn't hurt to get a few beers. Link's aching head told him that it definetly had hurt. When he put on his cap, Navi came flying towards him and shot straight under his cap and stayed there. It was her usual place to stay when she travelled with Link. "Goodmorning to you too." Link murmered. He wanted to say goodbye to Saria, but he didn't have to look for her. She stood near the entrance of the forest. "I believe you're not coming back for a long time, Link." she said sad as Link walked to her. "Nonsense, Saria. I'll be visiting. It's just that I won't sleep here that much anymore."  
  
"I'm going to miss you, Link. It was fun with you around." Saria said without changing the tone in her voice. "It's not that I'm dead and buried, you know." Link said as he kneeled next to her without looking away from her. "I know, I know. But still. I feel like I'm saying goodbye to my friend." Link smiled faintly. "If I were you, I'd get really scared." he said. Saria gave him a strange look. "Why?"  
  
"Because, when I'm back, you're going upside-down into the water, shorty." Saria laughed. Link was right. He wasn't leaving forever. "Just protect the princess well, Link." Link kissed his friend on her cheek and stood up. "Don't worry. I will." Saria handed him a whole bread which she had been holding in one of her hands. "Your breakfast." she said as Link took it. "Thanks, Sar! See you later." he said cheerfull as he exited the forest and headed for Hyrule Castle.  
  
Link had been acting as Zelda's bodyguard for a couple of days when the Princess of Hyrule decided to go out into the woods and practice archery. She wanted to learn how to use a bow. She had seen Link shoot a lot and she had asked him if she would be able to learn that too. Link had said that it wasn't that hard to master. Zelda's father had still not noticed Link performing his duties and Zelda wanted to keep it that way. She knew that Impa and Link knew more about her than her own father had ever known in his whole life. She didn't want to think about it, but it was the truth. She had told Link the evening before of her plans and he was looking forward to it. There hadn't happened anything exciting during his new job. That morning, he waited in front of her room, just like he did every morning. He had to get up early, but it paid well. When Zelda came out of her room, dressed in a simple peasant gown, she greeted him. "Goodmorning, your Highness. Ready to go?" he responded. "Well, I'm going to have some breakfast first, if that's okay with you." she said careful and polite. Link smiled. "Of course, your Majesty. Very unthoughtful of me." he said, excusing himself. Zelda looked at the floor. "What's up, princess?" Link asked concerned. She looked at him again. "Link, please. You have been calling me by my title for the past days. Call me like you used to do. Call me Zelda again." she said. "Okay, Zel." Link said chuckling.  
  
When Zelda sat in the kitchen having her breakfast, Link stood next to the door with his hands folded behind his back. He had already had his breakfast early. He watched Zelda eat and noticed how decently she did it. She was a real princess. Fortunately not like most of the royaly. He remembered that she had remained in the throne-room, while the other nobles had already fled. He admired her for it. She had more guts than she appeared to have. He thought the absense of Zelda's father over the past days had been a bit odd. "Zelda." he started. The young princess immediatly looked up from her breakfast. "Can I ask you something?" Zelda just nodded, her mouth still full of bread. "I wondered, I haven't seen your father the days I guarded you. Is he ill or something?" Zelda swallowed the bread and looked down again. "No... My father just... doesn't spent much time with me." she said hesitating. "Okay, but your father doesn't even eat with you and you haven't seen him for days now. Doesn't he care about you?" Link asked, concerned, but knowing it was a bit of a rude question. Zelda kept looking away from him. "My father loves me, Link. I know that." she said softly, not looking Link in the eyes. "Of course he does, but Fox's father and mother are..."  
  
"Shut up, Link! Shut up!" Zelda suddenly yelled and she jumped up from her chair so fast, that it fell backwards on the floor with a light thud and she ran out of the kitchen and back to her room, leaving Link behind. "Zelda." he tried as soon as he was over his surprise. What had gotten into her? He barely said anything. He began running after her, but stopped. It had no use. He figured she needed some time alone. Apparantly, Zelda's father was a sensitive topic with the young princess. Link already knew there was something wrong between father and daughter. It was obvious that the King didn't care much for his daughter. Link had known that from the years he had spent with his friend. And Zelda was trying to create her own world. She probably pictured her father still as a caring person. Link knew she had a large imagination. She would sometimes hide in her fantasy world if something unpleasant happened. Then she would just sit in thoughts, staring off in eternity. Link knew her world had to be perfect, for she spent some time in it. He had just damaged that perfect world of hers by pointing at the fact that her father was just someone who lived for himself. He wondered what made her create that world. Was it her father? Her character? Link sighed. From what he had heard on the streets had made him realise that most people didn't like the idea of having Zelda on the throne. In fact, Zelda wasn't really loved by the majority of the population. Most people saw her as an incompetent loser. And perhaps she was... What? How did that thought enter his mind? No. Zelda was his best friend. Perhaps she was a bit odd, but she was a person, just like he was and she had never hurt a fly in her life. She was always gentle and loving... in her own way. And what did she get in return? People called her 'weird' and 'pathetic'. Perhaps he was the only one who saw what a good person Zelda was. Probably because he had spent so much time with her. He knew that without him, Zelda would slip further into her own world and perhaps stay there. Why would she not? There were times when she realised that almost everyone was against her and then she would run off. Hiding from the bad world. That had to be the thing that made Zelda live partially in her fantasyworld: The harshness of this world. He had to admit, life was far from easy, but for Zelda, it was even harder. He decided to pay her a visit. Perhaps he could comfort her. When he reached her room, he was far from surprised that the door was closed. He heard her sob. He knocked on the door and said: "Zelda. Can I come in?" She didn't reply. He tried the door and it opened, letting Link in a decent room. Zelda had always kept her own room clean, though she had servants to do that. Link could take an example of her. He saw Zelda lying on her bed on her stomach, her head buried in her arms as her body shook from her sobbing. Link closed the door behind him and sat next to the princess on the bed. He put a hand on her back and said: "I'm sorry for what I've said, Zelda. I truly am." He said it soft as a sign that he meant it. Zelda slowly sat up straight and looked at him. Her cheeks were red and wet and some of her hair sticked to them. Her eyes looked sad. "Father... is a good man, Link. He loves me. He may not show it too much, but I know that he does." she said softly, obviously trying to repair the 'damage' Link had done. "I know, Zelda. I was wrong." he said, trying to smile. It was the worst lie he had ever told her. "Thank you for understanding, Link." she said with a slight smile on her ebony face. "You have to get to know father. He's such a good man once you know him." She paused for a moment. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you, it's just that..." Link put a finger on her lips and used his other hand to wipe some tears and hair from her face. "No need to explain it, Zelda." He startled from his own move and he quickly moved his hands away from her. What was happening to him? First his desire to dance with her and now this! Zelda was also surprised by it. Link had never touched her so caring! This had to mean... No... She had to stop fooling herself. Stop torturing herself. She would never be able to kiss the young man she loved so much...  
  
Link guided Uni through the streets of the town which lay in front of Hyrule Castle. On top of the white Unicorn sat Zelda, her legs to the side because of the dress she wore. She hadn't changed her plan to take archery lessons from Link. Perhaps this was a chance to get closer to him, though she knew she lacked the courage. Link had never learned how to ride a horse, so he held Uni's reins as he walked through the town. Navi fluttered behind Link, whining why he couldn't speed up. "Come on, Link. I want to be there before nightfall!"  
  
"Navi, please..."  
  
"Can't you hurry up?"  
  
"Shut up, Navi."  
  
"Even a snail..."  
  
"For Din's sake, Navi! Be quiet!" Link yelled irritated, drawing some attention from the people on the townsquare. "Going somewhere?" Fox asked as came walking towards Link and Zelda, hand-in-hand with Elwynn. "Fox!" Link said. "Haven't seen you in days, man." Fox replied as he stopped with his girlfriend in front of the Unicorn. Elwynn bowed before Zelda, parting her simple dress a little with both hands. "Your Highness..." she said polite. Navi hovered in front of her face, startling her. The little fairy studied Elwynn for a moment. "Look, Link! A female Fox!" she yelled enthusiasticly. Ignoring Navi, Link let go of the reins and sticked out a hand towards Elwynn. "I believe we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Link." Elwynn shook his hand and said: "I'm Elwynn, pleased to meet you."  
  
"I believe you know Zelda already. And this is Navi." Link said as he pointed at the fairy who flew a bit around. "Are you sure your name isn't Foxy or something?" Navi asked. "Navi!" Link said angry. "Where are you guys headed?" Fox asked, ignoring Navi's naive remark. "Link is going to teach me how to use a bow." Zelda answered. "Cool. Would you mind if we'd join you? Elwynn is a master of the bow."  
  
"Sounds neat, Fox!" Zelda said cheerfull, picturing a nice afternoon with her friends. Link wasn't paying attention. He heard an annoying conversation in the crowd. "Has she finally found her tongue, is she talking to that Lylatan scum."  
  
"I'm telling you, Gerbrand. When she's on the throne, Hyrule will be plunged into anarchy. I hope our good King sees how unfit his daughter is to rule."  
  
"Well, in my eyes, she's nothing but an obstacle for a prosperous nation, mark my words."  
  
"Perhaps she finds a good husband, so he can rule." This remark was followed by sarcastic laughter. "Honestly, you're killing me, Lyrtof."  
  
"Yes, I wonder if she has ever seen a man her age... Well, except for that green-hooded chap." Link had heard enough. "Let's go, guys." he said softly, almost sad, grabbing Uni's reins again.  
  
"Okay, your Highness. Now close your left eye and aim for the tree." Zelda did as Link instructed and aimed the arrow, which she had on her bow, at a tree. She was right-handed and that seemed to be a bit tricky for Link, since he was left-handed. Link stood next to her as the princess concentrated. She found it difficult to completely hold her hand still. "Fire whenever you're ready." Link said and Zelda let go of the string of the bow. The arrow flew towards the tree, but missed it by an inch. "Good shot, Zelda!" Link said, much to the young lady's surprise. "If it's your first shot, then it is very promising. All you need now, is more practice." Fox patted Link on his back. "Can I have a word with you, Link?" the Lylatan asked. "Sure, Fox."  
  
"Shall I take the class, Link?" Elwynn asked, her own bow at the ready. "Sure, Elwynn." Link answered as he followed Fox to a place away from the hearing range of the two girls. "What's up, man?" Link answered, noticing Fox's worried look. "Have you... noticed how impopulair Zelda is?"  
  
"I have. It's nothing new to me." Link said soft. "But I've heard more and more rumours as of late. I don't think people will attempt to seize the throne as long as Harkinian is still king, but if Zelda becomes queen, I don't know what will happen." Fox said with a sigh. "I think it's sad for Zelda, Fox. She doesn't deserve this."  
  
"I know. I know. But most people just want to see a good ruler and Zelda's father..."  
  
"King Harkinian is an arrogant fool!" Link said a bit loud. Fox startled from his friend's harsh words. "What..."  
  
"He doesn't give a crap about his daughter. Yes, whether she behaves during official meetings, but I've been acting as Zelda's bodyguard for a couple of days now and Zelda hasn't seen her father in those days."  
  
"Damn... I didn't know..." Fox murmered. He looked in the direction of the two girls, who were shooting with the bows. Elwynn shot with deadly accuracy, perhaps even better than Link, while Zelda tried to hit the tree. "Poor Zelda... Having bad parents is the worst thing when growing up." Fox said. Link smiled faintly. "I trust you on your word, Fox. Well, at least she still has us."  
  
"Yeah." Fox answered. In the mean time, Navi was flying a bit around Uni's head. The Unicorn got upset by the fast moving creature and neighed. The Unicorn shook it's beautifull head. Uni wasn't tied to a pole. He seemed to be loyal to Zelda and he never ran away. Suddenly, Navi noticed that Uni started to behave differently. He started to prance and neigh, kicking with his hooves. He was affraid of something, but Navi knew that it wasn't her. The fairy got nervous from the scared behaviour of the Unicorn and francticly looked around to see what was coming. She couldn't see anything. "Y... your just joking, right?" she asked the Unicorn nervously, as if he could talk. The Unicorn started to francticly shake his head, as if he was struck by some faul disease. With his wild prancing, he nearly kicked Navi with his hooves and it scared Navi even more. She had never seen Uni like this and she knew that something very bad was coming. She quickly flew to the place where her friends were. She had to warn them. When she reached the open spot where Zelda and Elwynn were practising, she almost collided with Zelda's face in her rush. "Q... quickly... There's something... wrong with Uni! He... sensed something very... big!" she said panting. "What?" Zelda said worried as she started to run to the place where Uni stood. She didn't think. She treasured Uni as a dear friend and she rushed to him with Link's bow still in her hand. "Your Highness!" Elwynn yelled as she quickly ran after the princess. "What's going on?" Fox asked as he noticed the scene. Link didn't waste any time asking. He started to run after Zelda and Elwynn. "Could someone please tell me what's going on?" Fox asked again as he followed Link and pulled his spear out of the ground near the area where Zelda and Elwynn had been practising. Navi had already flown back to Uni and when she got there, she saw Zelda standing near the white Unicorn, trying to calm him down. It didn't really work. "What's wrong, boy?" she asked worried. She put a hand on the Unicorn's neck, but he pranced again, throwing Zelda off balance and onto her back. Link ran to her and helped her up her feet again. "You okay?" he asked. "I'm fine, but I wonder what's wrong with Uni." Suddenly, the answer simply emerged from the ground. Elwynn noticed a strange shape in the ground which seemed to grow bigger. "Eh... guys..." she said, stepping a little backwards. The shape emerged to the left of Uni and when Link noticed it, a rotten hand shot out from the bulb of dirt. It was a disgusting sight. The flesh was almost falling off and parts of the bones were visible. The fingernails had been replaced by sharp claws. Link quickly drew his sword. He had heard enough stories of such creatures to know that he had to be ready for the worst. Zelda screamed and backed away from the thing which was busy getting out of wherever it came from. Fox positioned himself opposite of Link, with the thing between them. Elwynn put an arrow on her bow and took a good place for a good aim. Uni just got more and more uneasy and Navi was probably even more nervous. Another hand shot from under the earth, covered with mud. The two hands were obviously trying to pull their owner up from his resting place. Link heard Zelda swallowing behind him and he wasn't easy himself either. With a move too powerfull for two rotting hands, the creature pulled himself up from the dark depts of the earth. Dirt fell about, revealing a horror which Link had only heard of by very drunk men. It rose itself on it's disgusting arms. At the sight of it, Link wished it was a zombie or a ghoul, but he knew that it was far more powerfull than those relatively simple abominations. It's head wasn't even human-like. It had the shape of an egg, flat on the front and round on the back. It had large, black eyes, a little back and on top of it's head. Though his mouth was flat on the front, sharp, long teeth sticked out of it and pointed at various directions. His skin was incredibly pale and, for as far as he had it, it hung loose to his body. Link could clearly see the creature's ribcase. Oddly enough, the internal orgins seemed to be completely intact and functioning, as it they were preserved by magical means. This didn't make the creature better looking, though. Link noticed the creature's skin pulsating at some places, as if it lived a life of it's own. When it stepped out of the earth, Link could see his lower body. It was more plumb than the upper part and the hind legs were positioned like rabbit paws. The creature used them in conjunction with his long arms to stand, because his upper body hung a bit forward because of it's length. He was twice as long as Link, but a little skinnier, which made Link wonder how it was even possible for the creature not to break in two pieces. The 'toenails' were incredibly long, about the size of Link's sword, and they curled up at the end. Despite their length, they seemed pretty strong and Link preferred not to feel them. The spine of the creature stuck out from under his skin and formed sharp spikes. "By the Goddesses..." Zelda murmered in awe as she looked at the creature's hideous head. He turned it to her and raised one of his arms in her direction. "You come... with me." he spoke with a low, hoarse, slow voice. Link could clearly hear the creature's heavy breathing. It surprised him that it could even talk. Uni had suddenly gotten very quiet, but Navi flew away from the creature, scared, into a tree, far from the monstrousity. "Listen, buddy. Why don't you crawl back to whatever place you came from and live your life as a happy... thing, because the princess stays right here." Link said bravely, waving with his sword in front of the creature as he spoke. "Hand her over or meet your demise, surface dweller." the creature spoke in the same voice in which he had spoken before. Then, Link said something which surprised Zelda. "I'd rather die, ugly." The creature straightened his back, making him look even taller. "Be that way." he growled. The creature quickly swung his arm towards Link and, taking the Hylian young man completely by surprise, he grabbed him at his throat and lifted him up in the air. He pulled him close to his hideous face and Link felt his grip tightening around his throat as Zelda screamed her friend's name. "I can take her by force, if you wish." the creature said. Fox ran towards the creature and planted his spear in the ground as he used it to jump towards him. The Lylatan's feet were about to hit the creature, when it quickly turned around and hit Fox in his face with his free claw. Fox let a painfull cry as he flew backwards and fell on the ground, his face covered with blood. Elwynn startled the most. "Fox!" she yelled as she ran to his aid. The creature saw her as an easy prey and started to walk towards her, Link, who tried to break free, still in his hand. When Elwynn almost reached Fox, she felt a sharp blow in her side and it made her turn around and fall on the ground, on her back. The sharp pain in her side, the creature looming over herr and the blood pouring out of her dress told her that she had been struck by him. At the sight of two of his friends bleeding on the ground, Link wanted to slice the creature in two, but he had lost his sword when the monster had grabbed him. Zelda knew that she had to do something. Unicorns were pretty strong animals, but Uni was just too scared to attack. So Zelda was alone. She had learned much in the arts of magic, but she was too affraid to use it. She knew that it would go wrong, it had always went wrong. Sure, spells worked when she was alone in her room, but she was always so nervous when she had to cast magic in front of other people than Link. And now she had to use her pathetic skills to save her friends. But she had to do it! Or else Fox and Elwynn would die... and Link too. She closed her eyes. All she had to do was concentrate on a spell and then cast it. She searched her mind for a powerfull spell and found it. She had to hold the spell in her mind and make it real. It costed some effort, but slowly, her hands started to glow faintly. When the spell was about to enter the world through her, she opened her eyes and pointed her hands at the creature. She had to be carefull not to hit Link. Then, the spell was made real. It shot from her mind straight to her hands and her fingertips, searching for a way to enter the mortal world. Suddenly, a wave of flame shot from her hands, racing towards the creature. It engulfed his body and he immediatly let go of Link and screamed in pain. Link fell on his back and saw the creature desperatly trying to extinguish his body. He now looked like a living torch, his pale skin burning as if it were dry paper. In blind fury, he ran towards the source of his pain. Zelda saw the horrible creature running towards her and his appearance scared her more than anything in the world. She quickly closed his eyes and her fear rapidly found a spell for her. She spread her hand and pointed it towards the creature. Immediatly, small darts shot from her fingertips towards the abomination. They weren't normal bolts shot by crossbows, but they consisted of pure acid. When they struck the creature, they immediatly burned through his skin and his internal organs, leaving big holes in his arms, legs and chest. His legs unable to support him, he collapsed on the ground and died a painfull, horrible death. Link could barely believe his eyes. Was this the timid, innocent Zelda he knew? He noticed Fox kneeling next to Elwynn. "Are you okay?" the Lylatan asked his girlfriend concerned. Elwynn tried to stand up, but she felt too much pain and let out a groan as she sunk back on the ground. "Let me take a look at that." Fox said as he examined her wound. To his relief, he noticed that it wasn't too deep. "What about you, Fox?" Elwynn asked, not less worried than her boyfriend. "It looks worse than it is." Fox answered with a confident smile on his bloody face. Link walked to Zelda as she looked at him a bit uncomfortable. He had to walk around the rotting corpse of the strange creature which had almost strangled him. Zelda was breathing heavy. Her spellcasting had obviously taken great toll of her. "You were fantastic, Zelda!" Link said, still in owe of what he had witnessed her doing. "And you saved my life." he said softly when he stood in front of her. This made Zelda even more uncomfortable. "Jeez, your Highness! You really wacked that thing! What a moves!" Navi yelled enthusiastic as she flew towards Zelda. Link walked to his sword and picked it up. He started to poke with it in the carcass of the creature. "I wonder where it came from." he murmered. "I've never seen such a thing in my life."  
  
That night, Zelda was plagued by a nightmare. She saw the creature again, killing people and ruining cities. Men, women, children... everyone who wasn't fast enough to escape him, fell by his claws. Amidst the bodies, she saw Elwynn, Fox, Navi and Uni. Their throats slit open, even Navi's small neck hadn't been safe from the creature. Zelda noticed she stood in the ruins of some city, where the bodies lay. She recognised it as the town in front of Hyrule castle. She also noticed tears burning in her eyes for the loss of her friends. "See what you've done, Zelda?" she heard a voice. Out of the vague mist of dreaming, she saw Link coming. "You've killed them all. You should have gone with him. Were you that selfish? Murderer." Zelda heard other voices as well. "Murderer. Murderer. Murderer." She saw the bodies standing up and walking towards her. She saw the bodies of her friends rise as well. Navi flew in her face, showing her face. It had no eyes. "You shall pay, Zelda." the voices sounded. Link shook his head and said: "Zelda, Zelda, Zelda..." Link said as he grabbed Zelda's arms and tried to wake her up. He had heard her scream and he had quickly run to her room. He had seen her making wild movements in her sleep as a sign that she had a nightmare. "C'mon, Zel. Wake up." he said, right before she opened her eyes. They stood wide open, filled with fear. She immediatly wrapped her arms around his neck and Link pulled her closer to him to comfort her. Her whole body was shaking. "Link, it was horrible! Navi... and Fox... dead... and you..." she spoke rapidly. "Woa! Slow down, Zelda." Link said as he let go of her and backed away from her a little. Zelda noticed that it was in the middle of the night and that Link was only wearing his white leggings. That sight calmed her down a little. "It was a horrible dream, Link." she said, barely able to keep her eyes of him. "Well, whatever it was, it wasn't real. You're safe in the walls of the castle." Link figured it had something to do with what had happened that afternoon. "But I saw Fox, Elwynn, Navi and Uni dead and you accused me of murdering them and then zombies came after me..."  
  
"Odd." was the only thing Link could say. "It was terrible." Zelda sighed. Link sat down next to her on the bed. "I can't believe that you're always so calm when you're surrounded by death, Link." Link shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'm more used to that then you are, but that has nothing to do with your nightmare."  
  
"No, but you were so brave when facing that... thing this afternoon."  
  
"Well, it nearly got me killed." he said with a smirk. "Link..." Zelda started. Link noticed that she got uncomfortable again. Not that you had to know her to see that, since she started to curl her finger in her hair and blushed a little as she said the following words: "Did you mean that what you said this afternoon?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"That you would rather die than to have me harmed?" She said it soft, already doubting whether she would have said it. The question took Link a bit by surprise. He hadn't expected her to tie so much value to those words. "Of course. Everyone would die for a friend, wouldn't he?" That was a sharp stab through Zelda's heart. She had hoped that she would mean more to him. "Why?" Link asked. Why? She hadn't prepared for that question. "Because... it means a lot to me." she said, looking down. Link grabbed her chin and lifted her face so that he could see her eyes. Zelda didn't want to look into his eyes. She felt ashamed. "What's wrong, Zel?"  
  
"Nothing. Must be the dream." she said quickly. Too quickly. Link sighed. "Zelda, you've been acting strange as of late. We used to play so well when we were kids, but recently, you start to avoid me during a conversation. Is there something wrong with me?" Zelda startled. "No, no. On the contrary. You're... very special to me." She so badly wanted to tell him just how special. "Then what is it, Zelda?" Link asked, almost desperate. Would she tell him her true feelings? What would he do? Laugh? Make fun of her? Would he get mad? "I can't... tell you." Link sighed again and stood up. "Well, then I can't help you, I suppose." he said as he walked to the door. "Goodnight, your Highness." he said, obviously irritated. He closed the door behind him and walked back to his room. He sometimes got tired of Zelda. She could be so annoying. And now this. Darn. What was he thinking? She was so sweet... Perhaps she was just too good to be understood by her surroundings. Could that be it? She puzzled him even more than that strange creature they had fought. Zelda still sat on her bed, looking at the ground. "Why can't I tell him?" she asked herself. "Tell him what?" Impa, who appeared from the shadows, asked her. Zelda startled. "I heard you scream and came. But I saw that Link had beat me to it, so I hid myself. My apologies, your Majesty."  
  
"It's okay, Impa." Zelda sighed. Impa sat down next to Zelda and wrapped an arm around the princess. "What's wrong?"  
  
A couple of weeks passed and no strange events happened in those weeks. Zelda had given Link a day off and that evening, he sat with Fox, Elwynn and Malon in the local tavern, around a table. He hadn't drunk a single tankard of beer during his stay at the castle. "So, how's the castle?" Malon asked Link as he took a sip from his beer. "Big." he answered. He took another sip of his beer. He looked at Fox. There wasn't anything to be seen from his wound and also Elwynn had recovered fully. "Does it still hurt?" Link asked his Fox, who sat on the other side of the round table. "What?"  
  
"This." Link answered as he stood up a little and pressed his finger against Fox's forehead. "Not if you stay off of it." Fox said with a grimace on his face. Elwynn chuckled a little. "Zelda troubles me." Link said out of thin air, toying with his tankard of ale, staring off into space. "Oh? What's wrong with her?" Elwynn asked. Malon rested her head on her hand and murmered: "What isn't wrong with her?" She said it only hard enough for Elwynn to hear it. The Lylatan ignored it. "She is acting strangely and tries to avoid me more and more. I wonder if I did something wrong."  
  
"She has probably gained two pounds." Malon murmered. Link snapped out of his thoughts and said with a bit of a sleepy head: "What?" He had heard some vague murmering. "Never mind." Malon replied. "I wouldn't worry about it, Link. She has always been a bit strange." she continued. Link immediatly pounded with his fist on the wooden table, surprising his friends. "Not true! She is misunderstood, that's all!" Fox's strange look revealed his thoughts. Link sat back in his chair. "I'm sorry. I feel strange myself recently, too." As the evening progressed, other topics passed and the mood of the four friends was good. Until Fox heard something disturbing. "You won't believe what I've seen this afternoon. I saw our princess talking!" Fox turned his head and saw a tall man with dark-blond hair sitting next to a table on which more men sat. Laughing arose from the group of men. "Are you sure she wasn't just breathing?" Fox immediatly looked at Link and noticed that he had heard it. "Stay calm, Link." Fox murmered hard enough for Link to hear it. "Wanna hear my theory about her?" one of the men asked. Without receiving an answer, he continued: "I bet that, on nights like these, she goes out onto the streets and preys on the men to fulfill her lust."  
  
"Ah! So she's a Nymph!"  
  
"No, no, no. Nymphs are timid. She's just plain horny. A bimbo." Link stood up from his chair. Fox saw the look in his eyes and knew that the evening would end with a few broken noses. Link went to stand behind the man who had spoken about Zelda. "Oh, boy." Fox murmered. "I suggest you take it back." Link said with a low, angry voice. "What's up, kid? Want some milk?" the man replied, turning around on his chair to face Link, but ignoring his comment. Fox stood up and walked to Link. He put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Link. They're not worthy."  
  
"Look, he has brought his pet with him! Let's give it some meat and learn him some tricks!" one of the men said, before he stood up and grabbed a piece of pork from his dish. He walked to Fox and held it above his head. "Go on. Grab it." Everyone in the inn started to laugh, with the exeption of Link, Elwynn, Malon and Fox. "Sir, you better back off. I know how to defend myself." Fox said polite, but angry. The man noticed Elwynn and turned to her. "Look! A female. Let's see if we can make them do tricks together!" He bowed forward and curled his finger towards Elwynn. "Come, doggy. I've got a nice piece of meat for you!" Elwynn looked down. She wasn't planning on making trouble, despite the laughs around her. That was it for Fox. "Look, pig..." Fox started. The man slowly stood up and looked at Fox with a threatening look. "You talking to me, furry?"  
  
"Let's see... You've got the correct measures, so yes. I'm talking to you." Fox said, not impressed by the fact that the man was towering above him. "You know, usually, I don't hit animals, but for you, I'll make an exeption." Having said these words, the man immediatly did a small step back and punched in Fox's direction. Fox ducked the clumsy move and punched the man hard in his stomach. It made him bend forward and Fox hit him with his knee on his head. The man bounced of the Lylatan's knee and fell on his back. "Now you're talking, Fox!" Link said as he gave a kick against the chair where 'his' man sat on. The piece of furniture shot from under the man's hind quarters and he fell clumsy on the ground. The two other men stood up. "You'll be sorry for that, kid!"  
  
"Look, guys. I don't want to fight. Just apologise and everything will be okay." Link said as he saw the two man advancing on him and Fox. "Ha! You're nothing but a chicken!" one of them said. "A chicken? I don't think so." Link replied. The man closest to him kicked in his direction, but Link simply grabbed his leg with one arm and punched him in the face with his free hand. "Go, Link!" Malon yelled as the man fell backwards and hit the ground with the back of his head. The other man also walked towards Link and was on the opposite of the place where Fox stood, with a table between the two men. Fox placed his hands on the table and jumped. He then made a cartwheel and hit the men with two feet on the side of his head. And he too, collapsed on the ground. "Nice move, Fox." Link said, raising his thumb as Fox landed on the side of the table where the man had been standing. Elwynn clapped her hands in admiration. The last man stood up from the ground where once the chair had been standing and he pulled out a knife. The people in the inn startled a little. They liked a fight, but this could end badly. Fox wanted to walk to Link, but Link stopped him with a simple gesture of his hand. "He insulted Zelda. He's mine." Link said, narrowing his eyes and carefully watching the knife. "Oh, is that it? You bust up my pals just for the little honor of that dumb princess?" the man said. "She's a good princess. Just a bit shy, that's all." Link replied. "I don't think so. She's a pathetic little girl, affraid of the people she's going to rule. You barely see her outdoors and she hasn't even got friends."  
  
"She has plenty of friends. Friends who hold her dear."  
  
"You're not going to talk your ass out of this!" the man yelled as he charged Link with the knife. Link moved his upper body backwards to evade the knife and then to the left to evade another slash of the weapon. He grabbed the man's swordarm, turned his back to face the man and pulled the arm, and the man, over his shoulder. With the sound of crashing wood, the man fell on the table, causing it to break in half. Still a bit confused about what happened to him, the man lifted his head up and searched for the knife he had lost during his fall. Link, who stood behind the man put one foot next to him, kneeling a bit. "Lights out, buddy." he said as he hit the man hard on his head with his fist. The man's head bounced backwards and remained down, indicating that Link had knocked the man unconscious.  
  
"Damn, that was expensive!" Fox cursed as he exited the tavern. "Did you HAD to throw that guy onto the table?" he asked Link, who followed his friend out of the stone-wooden building. "Hey, a good table wouldn't have shattered like that." Link said, excusing himself by blaming the piece of furniture. "I agree. That table wasn't worth half the amount we had to pay for it." Elwynn said, joining Fox at his side. "And you guys DID kick their butts, right?" she continued, leaning on Fox's shoulder. "I guess so..." Fox replied. "But is Zelda worth of this trouble?" Malon asked to nobody, obviously pretty mad. "Malon, don't start that again. Why do you hate her so much?" Elwynn asked. "Because she's nothing but trouble. She nearly got Link killed!" the ranchgirl fumed. "Hey, hey! Like that guy would have stand a chance with his amateuristic slicing!" Link said, tilting his eyebrows. "Link, I can't believe that you're still trying to defend her name like that. She isn't worth it." Malon said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "She IS worth it! You must stop treating her as dirt!" Link yelled, pointing a finger at Malon. Malon startled from Link's tone, but she decided to strike back. "What's wrong with you, Link? You've been acting strange ever since you started to work for her." She spoke the words softly and innocently. "There's nothing wrong with me. Zelda just deserves the respect of a princess."  
  
"I just hope she hasn't put a spell on you, Link." Malon said, turning around and facing Link with her back. "What!?! You..." Link said, doing a step in her direction. Fox moved in between Malon and Link and put his hand on Link's shoulder. "Easy, Link. You can't blame Malon for her opinion. And... you HAVE changed..." Link gave Fox a hard push against his chest. "Back off, Fox!"  
  
"Link!" Elwynn yelled. "What people say about Zelda is her own fault. She locks herself away from the rest of the world. Then you get these kind of things. There's no reason to be mad about." the Lylatan continued, startled from Link's move. "Do you start, too?" Link said, looking at Elwynn furiously. "Zelda considered you all as her friends! And you treat her like this?" Link was furious. "C'mon, buddy. Calm down. It's not the end of the world." Fox said. "Every person who treats her like this helps making her life miserable!" Link replied. "Come on, Link. You've got to admit that she isn't like normal people." Malon said, turning around to face Link again. "Wh..." Link started, but he turned around and started to walk to the exit of the town. "Link!" Fox yelled. "She didn't mean it that way." Link turned around to his friends and said: "Screw you. Screw you all!" He started to run away from them, out of town and towards the forest.  
  
"Stop. You're not allowed to be here." the guard at the gate of Hyrule Castle said to Malon, who stood in front of the man. "But I'm a friend of the princess and I'm here to visit her." Malon protested. The guard remembered Link and Fox from the party and he quickly let Malon through. He didn't feel like getting some more of Tuldor's criticism. Malon walked past him and entered the castle. She had spent the night at Elwynn's place, because it had been too late for her to travel alone back to the ranch. She had already figured that Link was choosing Zelda's side more and more. She didn't believe that the princess had cast a spell on Link or something like that. No, she was too much of a coward to do that. She knew that the more time Link spent with the timid princess, the closer they grew to each other. Malon had to do something before it was too late, so she decided to take the battle straight to her blonde 'rival'. The ranchgirl had sneaked into the castle multiple times before and she knew her way around. Dark clouds were gathering around Hyrule's sun, indicating that rain was on it's way. There were two places where Zelda could be at that moment: The library or her room. Malon sneaked through the castle, carefull not to get spotted by guards. When they saw her, she pretended to be a maid. Not too much time had passed when she arrived at the entrance to the royal library. It was a huge room, filled with wooden bookcases and shelves on the walls. A thick carpet covered the floor and candles hung on the walls next to the shelves with books. Zelda loved to spent her time in the library, browsing through the numerous books about just about everything. She loved the stories of the deeds of the Royal Hylian Knighthood, but she also loved fairy-tales and romance stories. Malon didn't have to look far to find her 'nemesis'. She sat on her knees next to a bookcase, a bunch of books next to her as she searched the shelves for more. Zelda noticed the red haired girl when she stood right next to her. "Hello, Zelda." Malon said coldly. Zelda looked up to her and said: "H... hi, Malon. What a surprise." Zelda was always nervous if she spoke to anyone but her father, Impa, Link or Fox. Though she had been nervous in front of Link as of late, but she knew the cause of that. "Why are you stam... stam... stammering, Zelda? Are you affraid of me?" Malon asked threatening. Zelda wanted to stand up quickly, but she lost her balance and sat back clumsy. "W... what..." she started, but Malon interrupted her. "Look at you. Sitting in your safe castle. Reading stupid books all the time. Let me see that." Malon said before she bent forward and picked up one of the books as Zelda quickly stood up. "Ah... How cute." Malon said as she studied the book. The layout of it told her that it had to be a romantic story. Malon dropped it on the ground again. "You want Link, don't you?" she said, much to Zelda's unpleasant surprise. "N... no. Link is... a... a friend..."  
  
"I... i... i... is that so?" Malon said taunting. "I bet you want nothing less than to get him in bed with you, am I right?"  
  
"M... Malon, I..."  
  
"You can stop your puny efforts, since Link doesn't even like you. Because of you, he had to fight for his life yesterday and he had to pay some damage in a tavern. He said that it was all your fault and he was right."  
  
"I... I don't believe you!" Zelda said, taking a few steps back. "Then you don't. But you know that it is the truth. You're nothing but a burden to him." Having said these words, Malon turned around and started to walk away, leaving Zelda confused in the library. Malon knew that her words had worked with the naive Zelda and she smiled. She was SO stupid. It was just TOO easy to mess up her life.  
  
A few days later, Link was walking to Hyrule Castle to begin with his day as a bodyguard. It was still early in the morning and he enjoyed the fresh air. It smelled great, for it had been raining for the past few days, but it was dry at the moment and Link took his time to get to the castle. He was poundering his head about the strange creature that had tried to take Zelda away. For as far as he knew, undead were driven by hatred and a lust for blood, but that thing had an obvious objective: Kidnap Zelda. Of course, Link didn't know whether it was an undead being, but it certainly wasn't a healthy creature, that was for sure. He couldn't explain his anger against his friends either. He would have to apologise to them and especially to Fox. They never argued, since there wasn't anything to argue about. They were best friends. Link just hoped this whole Zelda-thing wouldn't drive him nuts enough to do worse things. He couldn't explain his sudden urge to protect Zelda either. He sighed and pointed his head towards the forest where he had just came from. Something disturbed him. Not only the recent events, but there was something else. There was something wrong, he felt it. He continued to walk until he had figured out what was wrong. It was quiet. There were no birds to be heard, no Griffins cried their morning shrieks to the heavens. It was just dead silent. Link wasn't a guy who got scared quickly, but this made the fear inside of him rise. He looked up at the sky. The clouds moved rapidly through the air. Nothing unusual about that, except for the fact that there was no wind! "Oh, boy." Link murmered. "What is going on here?" Then, Link heard laughing and he saw a man standing in the corner of his eye. He quickly turned to him and recognised the red-haired man immediatly. Ganondorf. He wore the same outfit as on the ball. "I see you're enjoying the view." the man spoke with a low voice, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "What's going on here, Ganondorf?" Link asked as he drew his sword. "These are all omens of something my master is preparing. And his plans are reaching completion. Soon, you will wish you had never born!" Ganondorf answered. "Your so- called master is dead." Ganondorf answered Link with laughter. "If I were you, I'd start praying real hard to your pathetic goddesses. The young princess will be ours within the next month."  
  
"I'll see to it that you won't have blood enough to even touch her!"  
  
"How brave. If you're really that brave, then you'll watch your back." Before Link could react, he heard a strange growl behind him. He quickly turned around. Nothing. When he turned back to Ganondorf, he had disapeared. Link ran to Hyrule Castle. He had to warn Zelda and Fox and Elwynn and Malon and the King and Impa... Ganondorf wasn't joking. Link knew it. "Why the rush?" Navi sticked her sleepy head from under Link's cap. She had awoken from Link's movements. Link didn't answer her. Ganondorf wouldn't warn him to give him time to prepare for something. His fear to lose Zelda grew. He didn't want to lose her. Never.  
  
"Zelda, I've seen this peasant boy around you all the time. I want you to break with him before his filthy influence can poison you." the King spoke. Zelda stood in front of him in the throne-room. She had pointed her head down as usually, but when the King had said this, she looked at him in horror. "Father, Link is my friend!"  
  
"Well, not anymore. I'll have him thrown out of the castle in your name. Then he'll stay away." Impa, who stood next to the throne on which the King sat, gnashed her teeth. He hadn't seen Link. One of the servants had. Like Harkinian would care for his daughter. Impa wanted nothing else but to hit him in his face right at that very moment. But that would get her into a very unhealthy position. Zelda startled even more when Harkinian had said the words about blaming her for it. She decided it was time for one desperate move. She fell on her knees and begged: "Father, please! I beg you! Link means so much to me. Please..." Impa bit her underlip. She knew about Zelda's feelings for the young man. She had told the Sheikah that night when she had a nightmare. Impa thought it was unfair what happened to the Princess. She had to let Link know what Zelda felt for him. One way or the other. He would understand. Now it was the King's turn to startle. "This is disgusting! Look at you! You're a shame for the entire kingdom! On moments like this, I regret the day you were born!" he said, as soon as he was over his surprise. Zelda was shocked. To hear something like that from her very own father! Impa walked to Zelda and helped her up her feet. "I'm sorry, Zelda." she said, recognising the shock in Zelda's eyes. The princess turned her head towards Impa. "Sorry about what?" she said, still confused by her father. "Sorry for your father being a complete asshole." The soldiers in the room startled. None of them agreed with the King, but Impa had guts! Harkinian pointed an angry, shaking finger at Impa. With a head about the color of a tomato, he yelled: "How dare you insult your king?" Impa, still supporting Zelda, replied: "You're not my king anymore. You've stopped being my king when the Queen died. A man who tells his daughter that's she's incapable of anything is by my standards an asshole." Impa spoke the words calmly. She knew that Harkinian would execute her for this, but someone had to tell the truth. She felt as a mother to Zelda and mothers are supposed to help and protect their children. Before Harkinian could react, the door to the throne-room swung open. Link came running in the room. He quickly bowed to Zelda and walked to the King. "Your Highness..." he started, panting and sweating. "Seize this intruder!" Harkinian ordered furious. The soldiers immediatly did what their king ordered and two of them ran towards Link and grabbed him at his arms. "What the..." Link started. "Your Highness! Evil is coming this way! I don't know what it is exactly, but you must prepare the army!" he explained. The King ignored Link and said: "Throw him out of here. The Princess doesn't want to see him again." Link looked at Zelda in surprise. "No, that isn't true!" Zelda immediatly said. "Let him go." she ordered the soldiers. Impa and Link were surprised by Zelda's tone. Harkinian was also surprised. In a less positive way. "What!? Disobeying your father, Zelda? What has gotten into that little mind of yours?" Zelda didn't know how to reply. Was this her real father? She had been denying it for her entire life, but Link had been right... No... No, it couldn't be! Her father was good, but he never showed it! And perhaps she was indeed wrong and was her father just trying to protect her. But protect her from Link? Protect her from the one she loved most? No, that couldn't be right. Her mind just couldn't comprehend it all. There had to be some good her father was pursuing, but she couldn't see it, or was he just a bastard who... No... Zelda ran out of the throne- room, crying. "No!" Link yelled as he wrinched himself loose from the soldiers grips. When he freed one hand, he punched one soldier in the face and hit the second with his elbow in the man's stomach. When he was free, he ran after Zelda. Impa smiled. Link was exactly the person Zelda needed now. Link chased the princess down the hall. As Zelda ran, she looked over her shoulder to see who was chasing her and she saw Link closing in on her. She didn't want to talk to him. She wanted to be alone. She tried to outrun him, but, just as in their childhood days, he was faster than she was. He roughly grabbed her at her arm and stopped her. "Link, let me go!" she yelled. She punched in his direction, but it had no use. He was too strong. "Zelda, calm down!" He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight to his chest. He could feel her body shaking from the sobbing. Link used his hand to tilt up her chin for his eyes to meet hers. Then, when he looked straight into her shining pools of beauty, he understood his feelings. He was finally able to understand his own behaviour. He was in love. So terribly in love with the girl in front of him. The girl no one liked. It struck him like lightning on a clear day. "Zelda... I..." For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to say in front of her. He was affraid for what she would say if he told her. There he was, the fearless warrior, affraid to tell his best friend his feelings. He had never been in love with a girl before and this was a totally new experience for him. "Don't pay much attention to him." was all he could say.  
  
Athos sat on a part of the wall of a Hylian keep. He looked at the horizon. He had also noticed the clouds moving while there was no wind. It scared him. He was the youngest Royal Knight of Hyrule with the age of twenty. Royal Knights were the best warriors in the land and they wore the strongest armor and the best weapons. His metal armor shone in the sun. Despite the fact that the armor covered his entire body, he was able to freely move in it. The visor of his helm was opened and the red feather on it hung down. A few strands of his wild, brown hair sticked out and his dark-brown eyes were tired of keeping watch. He decided to close them and he quickly fell asleep under the cosy sun. "Athos, wake up! We're under attack!" were the first words he heard when he woke up. He immediatly stood up and unsheathed his sword. He readied his shield as well as he started to look around. To his horror, he saw that the keep was indeed under attack. But not by Humans, not by Dwarves, Orcs or Goblins. No. They were attacked by a huge army of zombies, ghouls, skeletons and even red wolf-like creatures who breathed fire: Hellhounds. As far as the eye could see, the living corpses marched, not troubled by their rotten state or mutilated bodies. "Din, have mercy..." Athos murmered as he saw the pack of hideous creatures slowly advancing on the keep.  
  
Link and Fox sat around a wooden table in Fox's house as Link told his friend about his experiences. "I know there's something coming, but the King won't listen to me and the Princess is completely broken because her father said she isn't good for anything. But everything points at something horrible. The clouds moving through the air without wind, the strange creatures who have been appearing as of late and the irritated moods of people, including myself."  
  
"Yeah, I've noticed..." Fox answered. "But there's something else..." Link started. "I... am in love." Fox just grinned. "Sorry to disapoint you, Link. But Elwynn would get jealous." Link looked at his friend disturbed. "Not you, moron!" He continued with a softer voice: "Zelda..."  
  
"Wow." Fox replied. He wasn't surprised. It had to happen once. And Link's behaviour had changed, apparantly together with his feelings for the princess. "That's not JUST a girl. That happens to be the Princess of Hyrule, you know."  
  
"I know, I know, I know. I had just realised how perfect she is..."  
  
"Some people would disagree with you." Fox said, supporting his head with his hand. "Ah, screw them!" Link simply answered. Fox smiled. "You're right, Link. She's sweet and pretty... for a Hylian." he said, a funny look on his face. "You know how it is to be in love, Fox. Tell me, what do girls like?"  
  
"Hey, you tell me! You know Zelda better than I do."  
  
"Yes, I know her as a friend, but not as a GIRLfriend."  
  
"Well, you've got to make a girl feel special. Buy her some stuff. Flowers, jewelry, you know..." Link immediatly stood up. "Flowers, jewelry... Okay, got that." He quickly searched his pockets for some rupees. He was happy to found enough of them and he walked to the exit of Fox's house. "Ehm... Link. Shouldn't we prepare for the evil that's coming or something like that?" Link turned to his friend. "Evil can wait. There are more important things to worry about." Having said that, Link turned around and left Fox's home. Fox grinned. If Link had something in his mind... The Lylatan stood up and walked to the window. He looked at the sky and saw the clouds racing past it. "I hope you're wrong, buddy." he murmered.  
  
"Knock, knock." Link said as he entered Zelda's room. She had left the door open and sat by her window, her mind in her private world, her eyes focussed on a little bird who sat on the balcony. He just sat there, waiting for the sunlight to disapear from the world. Zelda looked up from the winged creature and turned around. She gave Link a weak smile. Link could see that she was tired. The young man nervously held something behind his back. Thanks to all the excitement of that day, Zelda had given Link another day off, just as he had requested. At that time, Link had been in need of advise from Fox and now, he stood before Zelda, armed with his friend's advice, but shadowed by the same nervousnes he had experienced before. "Why have you come back, Link?" Zelda asked softly. Link could see that Zelda had cried most of the time. Her eyes were red and looked very tired. "I bought you a little gift, Zel." he said, giving her a warm smile. Zelda's eyes widened. A gift? "What for? It's not my birthday." she commented, a bit excited. "I know. But... there's something I have to admit to you." Zelda's heart started to jump up and down in her chest, almost reaching her throat. She swallowed and asked: "You do? What is it?" Link walked to Zelda and kneeled next to her. He revealed a small, black, leather box from behind his back and opened it. He hesitated, but turned it around and revealed the contents to her. Zelda simply startled from it. In the box lay a beautifull necklace made of gold, adored with little shining diamonds in all the colours of the rainbow. On the front side hung a flat miniature stature of a Pegasus, sign of beauty and strength. The winged horse was made from a type of crystal Zelda had never seen before. "Will you accept it, princess?" Zelda couldn't do anything but nod. She was completely astonished. Link grabbed the necklace and opened it. "Will you allow me?" he asked. Zelda nodded and quickly used her hands to pull up her hair. Link put the necklace around her soft neck and put the ends together again. When he moved back, Zelda let her hair tumble over her back again. "Zelda..." Link started. He cleared his throat and finished it: "I... I love you, princess." It was all he could say with his dry mouth. Zelda backed away a little. She didn't know how to react. She had dreamed about this so often, but she had never expected him to say it in real life. Her eyes turned wet and for the first time in many years, heck, for the first time in her life, it were tears of hapiness and not of pain and sadness. "Finally..." she said softly with a smile and a shaking voice. "Link... I've loved you for so long." She could finally let it all out. Link had feelings for her too!. She wanted to yell 'Hurray' from the top of Hyrule Castle, but now wasn't the time. Link couldn't help but start smiling as soon as she had spoken the words. "Then kiss me, Zelda." he said softly. The two moved their faces together. Finally! This was where Zelda had been waiting for for so long. She closed her eyes and let her lips find his. When they made contact with them, it was as if bolts of electrical energy shot through her body. All the tense emotions for him were finally able to be expressed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She wanted to favor every second of their long kiss. Link wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her off the chair as he fell on his back, taking Zelda with him. Their kiss was only interrupted by this, not broken off. With Zelda on top of Link, they continued their kiss for a long time. Not only Zelda's, but also Link's emotions were released. The difference was, that Link had not understood his feelings for Zelda. He had always seen her as a friend and not as a possible girlfriend. But the effect was the same. Once their feelings were released, they raged between each other like a furious war. But it was a war of love, not damaging to each other. On the contrary, it made them feel so great. But a different type of war was hanging above their heads. A bloody, terrible war. And it was only a short time before the two would get involved.  
  
When the sun had disapeared from the sky, leaving only a faint, red glow over the landscape, Link sat on the edge of the balcony. He rested his back against the stone wall of Hyrule Castle and held Zelda in his arms. The two had eaten supper in Zelda's room and now they enjoyed the view. Zelda shivered a little. "Cold?" Link whispered in her ear. "A little." she answered, whispering also. Link slowly started to rub his hands over her arms. He had forgotten about Ganondorf and his threat. Perhaps the evil man was just bluffing. But it didn't matter now. He kissed Zelda on her neck. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Happy." she replied. "Good." he said back as he kissed her neck again. Suddenly, the sound of talking men could be heard. Doors were opened and horses were brought out of the stable. Link could clearly define the sound of armor and weapons bouncing against each other. "What the..." Zelda murmered as she moved forward a little to see what was going on in the courtyard. She saw soldiers preparing for battle and mounting their horses. "What's going on?" Link asked as he came up from behind her. "I don't know." she answered. In spite of the lack of light, Link could see Fox's father walking around. "Mister McCloud!" Link yelled. "What's going on?" James turned to Link and yelled back: "Someone attacked one of our border outposts. We're riding to repel them."  
  
"Who has done it?"  
  
"We don't know exactly, but the young man who escaped talked about... zombies. Ask him, he's in one of the guest rooms." was the last thing James said. He mounted his horse. "Good luck, mister McCloud!" Zelda yelled. James raised his hand to her and the detachment of soldiers rode away from the castle. Zelda noticed that Link had left her side and she knew there was only one place where he could be. She hurried to found the right room and it didn't took her long to find it. She saw Link standing next to the bed in which a wounded young man, his chest in bandages, lay. "There were zombies, I tell you! The King won't believe me, but it's true!" the young man said. "Okay, Athos. I believe you." Link said. "Zelda, this is what I've been trying to warn your father about." Link said to Zelda, his eyes closed. "It's Vulgar, I know it. He's after you, Zelda."  
  
"But he's dead!" Zelda nearly screamed. "Those people who attacked Athos here were supposed to be dead too, but their walking. I'll go after Fox's father and the other soldiers. They don't know what they're up against."  
  
"No..." Zelda said softly. She walked to Link and put a hand on his arm. "It will get you killed, Link."  
  
"If I don't go, it'll get THEM killed. Hyrule isn't that large. If I hurry, I might be on time for the battle." Athos wanted to sit up straight, but the pain in his torso denied him to do so. "Be carefull." he said with a groan. "They're vicious suckers." Zelda looked at Athos and then at Link. "If you're going, then I'll go with you, Link."  
  
"But, Zelda..."  
  
"No buts! You will need my magic, Link and you know it." the Hylian princess spoke confident. Link looked at her with a weak smile. "Where does that sudden enthusiasm come from?" Zelda looked away from him. "From the fact that I love you, I suppose." Link grabbed her chin and made her face him. "Never look away from me again, Zelda. Never." He kissed her lips sweetly. "This is disgusting!" a furious Harkinian said. He stood in front of the door to the hall. "I knew it! His filth DID poison you, didn't it?"  
  
"Father, I..."  
  
"No excuses, Zelda. Step away from him." the King ordered. Zelda did what her father asked. It had always been that way. "Zelda..." Link said softly, begging., stretching his arm out to touch her. "Don't even dare to touch her, peasant boy! Guards, arrest this... pile of dirt. I'll have him executed in the morning!" Zelda startled. "No!" she yelled. "Listen to me, young lady. You will behave as a decent princess and marry a prince, or you will get punished." Harkinian fumed. Zelda had to choose. Her father or Link. She looked at Link as soldiers came in and grabbed him. "Now follow me, Zelda." the King practicly ordered his daughter. Zelda did a few steps in her father's direction, but stopped. It suddenly really hit her. Link loved her. Her father didn't. "Father..." Zelda started. Harkinian turned to his daughter. "Yes?"  
  
"Screw you." Zelda said boldly. As Harkinian was trying to get over his shock, and Link to get over his laughing, Zelda ordered the soldiers to release Link. Not knowing what to do, the soldiers followed their own will and released Link as the princess had told them to do. They didn't want to lock Link up, less execute him. They all knew him too well. Zelda walked past her father and Link followed her. "Oh, yeah. Father, I'm going to help Link fight the zombies. Don't stay up for me." Zelda said without stopping her pace.  
  
When Link and Zelda rode away from the castle on the white Unicorn, Navi came fluttering after them. "Hey! Hey! You're forgetting someone!" she yelled. Link, who sat behind Zelda since he couldn't ride a horse, turned to the little fairy and said: "Navi, go..." When Navi reached him, she interrupted him and said: "Oh no! I'm going with you, big guy! You're going to get yourself into a lot of trouble again and I'm the fairy to get you out of it."  
  
"Navi..." Link started again, but his tiny friend landed on Uni's head, right in front of the horn. "My decision is final." she said as she crossed her tiny arms in front of her chest. When the party exited the town someone called from behind them. Link turned around again and saw Elwynn and Fox on a brown horse, their weapons with them. "I believe we are complete." he said chuckling. "We're going with you guys." Fox, who sat behind Elwynn since he too, couldn't ride a horse, said as soon as the brown horse reached the white Unicorn. "I know my father is in trouble. Rumours of living dead are spreading through town and that small army won't stand a chance." the Lylatan continued sad. "What makes us think that we DO stand a chance?" Navi asked, still sittong on Uni's head. Link grinned to the little fairy over Zelda's shoulder. "Because we're the best of the best, Navi. I thought you knew." Navi sighed. "I hope I know what I'm doing." she murmered.  
  
It didn't took the party long to reach their destination. Link had heard from Athos where the keep had been attacked. Everybody got nervous when they heard the sounds of battle. Clashing steel, cries of pain and the tearing of flesh. When they reached the battlefield, they saw the soldiers fighting with an army of undead. It was a massive battle. There were more Hylian soldiers than the friends had expected, but the undead hordes were far larger. Link dismounted Uni and drew his sword. He could see zombies, skeletons armed with swords, shields and armor, ghouls... Everything that had once lived and moved on two legs now hacked their way through the Hylian army. Fox dismounted as well and swallowed. His father was in that gigantic bloodfest. He readied his spear and walked a few steps forward. It all had a more spooky character because of the red glow of the low sun. He noticed a few zombies feasting on the flesh of one of the fallen soldiers, tearing the man into pieces. It filled his heart with anger. He felt a pat against the back of his head. "Don't stand there drooling about those horny zombies, Fox. We've got some butts to kick." Link said as he started to run towards the franctic scene. Fox quickly followed his friend and Elwynn positioned herself on the hill next to the plains, placing some arrows in the ground. Zelda stood there, not knowing what to do. She was scared, yes. But Link and Fox needed her help. Elwynn put an arrow on her bow and aimed. "Wait, Elwynn." Zelda said as she walked to the Lylatan. "Can I have your bow for a second?" Elwynn didn't know what the princess wanted with it, but she handed the weapon over to her. Zelda grabbed it with two hands and closed her eyes. She concentrated again, sending some of her magic power into the wood of the bow. When she opened her eyes again, the bow illuminated a strange, yellowish light. Zelda handed the it to Elwynn again, who carefully took it. Elwynn put an arrow on her bow and aimed at a group of zombies who approached the fight, but weren't yet involved. When she fired the arrow in their direction, it glowed just as the bow did. When it struck Elwynn's target, it went straight through it. The relatively small wound created by it expanded, the edges govered by the same glow as the arrow. It seemed to function as a deadly acid on the undead creatures. "Undead are evil creatures. They can't stand Light magic." Zelda explained to the surprised Elwynn as the unfortunate zombie collapsed on the ground. In the mean time, Fox raised a zombie on his spear and used his weapon to throw the creature away again. With an elegant bow, he fell on the ground. Fox noticed Link charging him from his side. "Flat on the ground, buddy!" the Hylian yelled. Fox immediatly let himself fall on the ground, just moments before Link's sword sliced above his head, taking several pieces of zombie flesh with him. Fox quickly stood up and kicked the senseless body of the creature away. Link had turned around just in time to block the sword of a screaming skeleton. "Duck!" Fox ordered. Link quickly sank through his knees and before the skeleton could hack him down, Fox's spear shot over Link's head and penetrated the skull of the creature, putting him out of his misery. Link, still in his ducking position, noticed a skeleton charging him from the side. He quickly slashed low and hard with his sword, taking away both of the skeleton's legs. The abomination fell down on the ground and died. Again. "Can I hop over?" Fox asked. Link rose a little on his feet and formed a small hill with his back. Fox dropped his spear and placed both hands on Link's back. He made a cart-wheel and struck the head of a zombie on the other side with both of his feet. The creature's neck wasn't so sturdy anymore, so his head bounced back as the neck teared in two. As soon as Fox was off Link's back, Link stood up a little and turned around to face two more zombies. He quickly kicked Fox's spear back to the Lylatan, who quickly ducked to grab his weapon. "Enjoying yourself a little?" Link asked Fox as he moved his upper body backwards to avoid one of the zombies. "I'm having the time of my life." Fox replied as he hit a zombie on his leg with his sturdy spear with such a force, that it broke, restricting the zombie to stand longer. "How about you?" Link avoided the second zombie when he said: "I had worse moments." When the first zombie missed Link again, the young man pointed his sword at him and said: "Come on, buddy. Put a little bit more life in it." He ducked, turned around completely and, while still ducking, he diagonally sliced up with his sword, striking the first zombie on his chest and the second one on his head. The zombie with the sliced head spirted his blood a little further than Link had expected and it decorated the Hylian's tunic with some serious red spots. The effect on both zombies were the same, however. A collision with earth. Fox felt someone falling against him and he had to brace himself not to fall with the man. When Fox saw the soldier's face, he startled. His eyes were wide open, fear still inscribed in them. Blood came from under his head, but his neck wasn't cut open. It was ripped apart by something. With the absense of light, Fox saw something large approaching him. When he recognised it, he backed away a little. The creature existed entirely of bones and walked on four legs. It was about the length of two horses and the height of one. His head was the skull of a crocodile, only more plumb and filled with dagger-like teeth. He had a bone tail with a large, metal-like flail on the end of it. His feet were touch looking bones which resembled ostrich feet and his eyes seemed to glow a strange, red light. "Ehm... Link?" Fox said, patting Link on his shoulder with his free hand. "Yeah?" Link said as he turned to Fox. When he saw the creature, he backed away a little as well. "Oh..." he merely said. "Do... you come here often?" This comment of Link was answered by a fiendish howl by the creature. With an unearthy speed, he jumped towards the Hylian, who rolled to the side to avoid the attack. With the sound of shaking bones, the creature landed, missing Link by a few inches. "I'll take him for a ride, Link." Fox said, elegantly climbing on the creature just as it was about to attack Link for a second time. It wasn't a real easy job for the Lylatan, but he made it and sat on the thing. It howled as if it was struck by lightning and started to shake his back and turn circles. "Okay, what now..." Fox murmered. He held on to the spine of the creature. He raised his spear and just stabbed it into the head of it with all the strength he posessed. This made the creature howl even louder and with one powerful move, he threw Fox off his back. The Lylatan flew a couple of meters through the air and hit the ground with his back, his head pointed at the creature. He wanted to stand up again, but a sharp pain in his back restricted him from doing so. He screamed from the shot of pain that raced through his spine. "Fox!" Link yelled, speeding to his friend's aid. But he was too late. The creature had placed one of his feet on Fox's shoulder and lowered his head to take a bite from the Lylatan's neck. "Get off of me, you pale little piece of shit!" Fox yelled, as if that would matter something. Suddenly, the creature got hit by a yellowish bolt of magical energy. It startled him and made him look at the source of it. Link saw Zelda standing a couple of yards away from the creature. "Come on! It's me you want, you sack of bones!" she yelled bravely. The creature forgot all about Fox and started to run towards Zelda, who closed her eyes. Link startled as he noticed the speed of the creature. Zelda would never get enough time to cast her spell! When the creature was near Zelda, the princess opened her eyes and raised her hand in the air. Immediatly after she had done this, the clouds started to mix with each other and started to turn around each other, creating a small disturbance at the start, but evolved in a giant whirlwind. This all happened so quickly, that the creature had no time to strike Zelda down. The whirlwind wasn't far from the creature and raced towards it with lightning speed. Zelda's hair danced around her face as the whirlwind flew past her and caught the bone- creature. It howled loud as his forelegs got lifted up from the ground. The whirlwind seemed to have trouble with the hindlegs and the rest of the creature, but it succeeded in taking them airborne too. With the creature several meters above ground, Zelda started to make directing motions with her hands. She motioned the whirlwind to stop and it did as she ordered. With one hand pointed at the whirlwind, she closed her eyes again and concentrated. When she opened her eyes, she snapped the fingers of her free hand and the winds of the whirlwind turned to stone, completely boxing the creature in. Zelda then moved both hands towards each other and Link saw the triangular shaped piece of stone shrinking in size, crushing the bony creature in the process. When the piece of stone was about half of the size of his original shape, Zelda lowered her hands and sank to her knees. The stone crashed into the ground and remained there. Link and Fox weren't the only ones who had witnessed this scene. The Hylian soldiers had as well and it gave them the courage they needed to fight off the rest of the zombies. The strongest creature had been disposed of. Link had no time to look after his wounded friend and his tired girlfriend. He had to help the Hylian soldiers kill the last of the zombies, but fortunately, Elwynn came running to help her boyfriend. Knowing this, Link rushed off into battle again. Elwynn kneeled next to Fox and supported his head. "Are you okay?" she asked worried. "My back..." Fox murmered. "Can you feel this?" Elwynn asked, poking in Fox's leg. "Auwa!" Fox yelled exagerated. "Yes, I can feel that." he answered. Elwynn sighed in relief. "Worried about me?" Fox asked teasing. "Yes." Elwynn said with a soft voice. She caressed Fox's cheek and kissed him. In the mean time, the soldiers finished the last few zombies off. As Link removed his sword from the belly of the corpse of a fallen zombie, he saw the remains of the undead army retreating. This seemed odd to him. Undead usually fought without thought. Their minds were bent to nothing but a lust for blood and destruction. Oh well. The Hylian army had won the day and the undead army was defeated. The soldiers cheered and struck their shields with their swords to produce a large amount of noice. Link noticed James McCloud sitting next to Fox and sighed in relief. He had made it! Link quickly rushed to Zelda, who carefully stood up again. Link helped her getting up and supported her. "We... won." she said happy, but tired. "Yes. And it's all because of you, Zel!" Zelda sunk back on the ground again and Link quickly caught her. "Are you alright?" he asked worried. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit tired." Zelda replied. One of the soldiers stepped to the two, it seemed to be the captain. He bowed to Zelda and said: "That was a darn brave thing to do, your Majesty! I don't know many royal people who risk their own lives on the battlefield, but you made us win this battle. You've saved a lot of lives, your Highness. I bet your father will be proud." Zelda looked down. "No, he won't." The captain looked confused. "Your Highness?"  
  
"He'll start saying that it's not princess-like and I'll get punished." Zelda lifted her head up again. "Oh, I'm sorry. I let myself go." The captain didn't know what to say, but Link traced Zelda's jaw with his index finger, lifted her head up and looked deeply into her eyes. "I love you, Zelda. Very much." She simply put her forhead against his chest and started sobbing. She still wasn't over the fact that her father had no love for her. Her mind still didn't want to know it. But Link was there for her. He would be there for her always. The captain realised what was going on and felt stupid. He walked away and started to gather what was left of his division.  
  
The people of Castle Town celibrated. The threat had been thwarded and their precious land was saved. Though some had nothing to celibrate. They had lost fathers, husbands, friends or sons in the battle and mourned. Zelda had been praised by the soldiers for her courage and her name echoed through the streets that entire evening. The people were surprised by her and her name was spoken with admiration. In the mean time, Zelda was busy changing into her nightgown. It was a simple, short shirt with very short sleeves. Her spellcasting had tired her and she wanted to sleep. But she didn't get the chance. Someone knocked on her door. "Who is it?" she asked with an annoyed sigh. "It's me, Zel. Can I come in?" Zelda recognised Link's voice and said: "Go ahead." Link entered Zelda's room and closed the door, just too late to stop Navi from flying in as well. "Navi..." Link started. "I'd like some time alone with Zelda." The fairy didn't reply for a moment, but flew away through the door which Link opened again. After he had closed the door again, he sat down on Zelda's bed. Zelda hesitated a bit, but sat down next to him. Link didn't fail to notice her legs when her sitting down forced the lower part of her nightgown to go up a little. "Heroine." he said softly, giving her a warm smile. Zelda blushed a little. "I'm just glad my father wasn't there to tell me off." Link comfortingly put an arm around her shoulders. "I bet he's proud of you, Zel." he said assuring. Zelda sighed. "No, Link. He isn't. Come to think of it, he has never been proud of me. But why would he? I'm nothing." she said softly. "Don't you even dare to say such things, Zel. You have killed that beast this evening. Your father never would've been able to do that."  
  
"Not a real achievement with magical powers."  
  
"But how did you shape those magical powers, Zel? With training, learning and discipline. I wouldn't have the patience, nor the courage, to learn what you have learned. You're a heroine and no one can compete with that." Zelda remained silent. What could she say in reply? She didn't feel like she had done something great that evening. "And furthermore..." Link said softly in her pointed ear, sending shivers down her spine. "You've stolen my heart and that requires a very special person." Zelda just wondered what he would do next. She turned her face to him and he continued, his lips brushing against hers, teasing her a little. "And there's just one person on earth who meets those... requirements." He paused, moved away from her begging lips and kissed her cheek. "She has gorgeous, long, blonde hair." he continued. He moved to her other cheek and kissed that one as well. "Beautifull eyes." He moved back to her lips again. "And wonderful lips." He kissed her passionetly on his topic and she returned the kiss. Kissing, he guided her down on the bed and lay on top of her, supporting his weight with his knees and hands. When they broke off the kiss, Zelda said: "Father would be furious if he'd see us like this."  
  
"Perhaps. But he's not here, is he?" Link responded. "No, he's not." Zelda said as she wrapped her graceful arms around his neck and pulled him closer. As they kissed again, Link just hoped that he would be able to control himself well enough not to go too far. He pulled back and sat back on the bed again. "What's wrong, Link?" Zelda asked disturbed. "I might lose control. You aren't exactly wearing a lot of clothes, you know." Link answered, feeling stupid by saying it. Zelda gave him a disapointed look. She had hoped that he would go further. But at the same time, it was a noble thing of him to do. She gave him a warm smile and said: "I love you, Link."  
  
"And I love you, my princess." he returned. He kissed her on the cheek and stood up. Then, he noticed a creature hanging upside down above the balcony. It was a bat. When Link opened the doors to the balcony, the creature awoke and flew away. "Winged rat." Link murmered. He closed the doors again and walked back to Zelda. He gave her another kiss on the cheek and said: "I think I'll leave you now. You might want to sleep."  
  
"What if I'm too scared to sleep?" she replied innocently. "Then perhaps I should stay and... comfort you." Link said with a grin. He was glad to see that he had given her a boost of confidence. At least she didn't act so vulnerable in his presence anymore.  
  
In the middle of the night, Zelda awoke from a strange, rusty, cackling laugh which filled her heart with fear. She looked around the room to see where it was coming from, but she couldn't see anything. She shook Link's shoulders to awake him. He had decided to stay with her and spent the night in her king-size, four poster bed. Not that there had happened anything between them, but Zelda felt incredibly happy and safe in his arms. "Link! Link! Wake up!" she whispered, as if talking louder would bring the laugh back. With a groaning sound, Link turned away from her, having her face his naked back. "Link, I heard something!" she said, ceasing her shaking of his shoulders. "I didn't." Link said softly in a groan. He quickly drifted off into sleep again. Then, Zelda heard the laugh again, louder this time. In a flash, she saw the happy face of a clown in front of the glass door through the curtains. It was only his silouette she saw, but the joker scared her. She cuttled against Link, who woke up again. "What?" he said irritated. "I saw a joker in front of the window, Link." The moment Zelda said it, she realised it sounded pretty stupid. Link completely woke up and sat up straight, looking at her with a vague expression on his face. "A joker?" The moonlight which fell through the curtains made it possible for Link to see how scared Zelda was. She wasn't joking. He stepped out of bed and walked to the glass door of the balcony. With one move, he opened the curtains and saw nothing but the courtyard of the castle lit by the moonlight. He turned his head to Zelda. "Nothing. You must have dreamt it." Zelda closed her eyes and sighed in relief. When Link turned his head back again, he stared in the face of a clown. It was the usual made-up face. White face, red lips, black marks on the lids of the eyes. Except for one small detail. The clown had razorsharp teeth in his disgusting grin. "Hello, Link. Want to play?" he said with his cackling voice through the window. "What the fuck..." was all Link could say, right before the clown crashed through the window and grabbed Link at his throat. The power of this move made Link fall on his back, surrounded by flying shards of glass. Link felt the long fingernails of the clown in his neck as Zelda screamed his name. "You die, Link. Isn't that funny?" the clown spoke, strengthening his grip around Link's neck. "If I'd get a rupee for every time someone said that to me..." Link murmered, right before he raised his knee with all of his strength, hitting the clown between his legs. The creature immediatly collapsed with a painful groan and Link rolled from underneath him. When Link stood up, he said: "Finally a monster with balls." The clown tried to stand up, but it took him too much effort. Link kneeled in front of the clown's head, with his back facing the creature, and turned his stomach to face the ground while he put his hands on the ground for support. In one move, he lifted up his legs and wrapped them around the clown's neck. "Let's not make it more difficult than it is already, pal." Link said, right before he gave the floor a hard, aimed push with his hands. This move forced the Hylian's body to completely spin around, including his legs, breaking the clown's neck in the progress. Link also took the lifeless body of the clown with him in his spin and when Link hit the ground with his back, so did the clown. When Link stood up, he noticed Zelda's admiring gaze on him. "Where did you learn that?" she asked Link just shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"A clown!?!" Fox asked Link at a tone as if the Lylatan doubted Link's mental state. "Yeah, a clown. But I bet it was a demon of some sort. At least it's dead." Link and Fox sat against a tree somewhere in the fields, relaxing a bit. The sun had begun to shine again. "How's the back?" Link asked his friend, who sat on the other side of the tree. "It's healed." Fox said assured. "How come you are so sure?" Link asked. "It doesn't hurt when I do a backflip."  
  
"Oh." was Link's simple reply. "Oh yeah, by the way. Zelda and I are in love."  
  
"Oh. Congrats."  
  
"Not surprised?"  
  
"I saw it coming." Link paused for a moment and then said: "Nice weather, huh?"  
  
"Yeah. But I doubt the evil is gone."  
  
"I'm absolutely sure we can expect another attack."  
  
"Yup. Question is: When?" Fox said calmly.  
  
"Link is so fantastic, Uni." Zelda said as she curried Uni's back. The Unicorn stood in the stables of the castle and seemed to enjoy the way Zelda took care of him. The princess always tended Uni herself. She then talked to the Unicorn, though she doubted whether the animal could hear her. "He protected me so bravely last night." she murmered as she stared in front of her with a smile on her lips. She wore the necklace Link had given her. She loved it. Because it was a beautiful piece of jewelry, but also because it was a symbol of Link's love for her, a love she cherished more than anything in the world. "Talking to an animal, Zelda?" a familiar female voice sounded behind Zelda. The princess startled and swallowed. She turned around and saw Malon standing against the post of the entrance to the stables. "Still living in your dreamworld, princess?" The ranchgirl walked to her. "Did you dream about Link last night? I doubt he'll like that."  
  
"H... Hi, Malon." Zelda said to hide her fear. "H... Hello, Zelda." Malon said at a childish tone. "Wha... What's up?" Zelda asked, to scared to notice Malon's mockery. "Ah, look at that." Malon said as she stopped next to Zelda. "The princess has bought herself something. Couldn't find anything more expensive?" she said as she grabbed the shining Pegasus of Zelda's necklace and examined it. Zelda wanted to back away. She didn't like Malon that close to her, but Uni was in the way. "L... Link has b... bought that for me." Malon's reply was laughter. "This is PATHETIC! You buy something and then you imagine that Link has bought that for you?"  
  
"N... No, it is true. Link h... has bought this for me." Malon closed her hand around the Pegasus. "Sure, Zelda. Sure." She gave a strong pull to the miniature creature and it shot away from the part where it had been attached to, tearing the necklace apart. Zelda felt a brief, sharp pain in her neck and she got forced to bent a little bit forward. "No!" she screamed. "Oops! I broke it!" Malon said as she threw the Pegasus on the ground, breaking his wings and head in the proces. She turned around and exited the stables as Zelda fell on her knees and effortlessly tried to fix the Pegasus. She was shocked and cried as the broken necklace fell off her neck, revealing a red mark on her delicate skin.  
  
The days passed by, but Zelda didn't want to tell Link about the necklace. She didn't want to blame Malon for anything. For all Zelda knew, she could have provoked it herself. One way or the other, she had challenged Malon. Perhaps it was because she had been so nervous in front of the ranchgirl. But it was her own fault that the necklace had fallen apart and she felt guilty. It had costed Link so much money and she had become uncareful. Link had noticed that Zelda hadn't been wearing the necklace anymore, but he was too polite to ask for it. He just knew that his next gift would have to be more expensive than what he had given her. He figured she was a princess and gifts like that were common to her, though he had never seen her wearing something expensive. He kept silent until he noticed a red line running across the back of her neck when they enjoyed some private moments together. Zelda rested against his chest somewhere in Hyrule field as Link held her in a warm embrace. Link immediatly knew it had something to do with the necklace. "Say, Zel..." he started. "Hmm?" she simply replied, looking at the start-lit skies. "What happened to your neck?" Zelda startled. "Nothing!" she quickly said. "It has something to do with your necklace, am I right? What happened?" Zelda closed her eyes. How could she possibly have thought that she would have been able to hide it from him? "I... I broke it..." she murmered. "Oh. What happened?"  
  
"I... I got stuck somewhere..."  
  
"How can you possibly get stuck with this?" Link asked irritated. He startled from his own comment. Zelda startled even more, though she had prepared for such a reaction. "I.. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." she said as if she was terribly affraid that she would lose him to this 'accident'. "No, no. It's okay. I'll get it repaired." Link said in her blonde hair as he pressed her against his chest. "But..." Zelda tried, but Link interrupted her. "Don't try it, Zel. You're worth more than a few rupees. Much more."  
  
"T... Thank you very much, Link... I... really liked it." Link smiled, something Zelda couldn't see. He pointed his hand towards something on the right of the couple. Zelda looked in the direction Link pointed at, only to feel his hand on her cheek, turning her head further and forcing her lips on his.  
  
A short man with white hair behind the counter of the jewelry shop got a very stupid look on his face when Link put something on the counter. It were the remains of Zelda's necklace. "How much to repair this?" Link asked as Fox started to laugh. The aged man examined the piece of jewelry and said: "Repair isn't really the right word..." When he looked back at Link again, he said: "I'd call it revive." This made Fox laugh even louder. Link turned to his Lylatan friend. "Would you shut up?" When he turned to the man again, he said: "I don't care what you do. Can you do it?"  
  
"Young man, it's going to cost me a lot of time and you a lot of money. Do you have it?"  
  
"Ehm... Not exactly, but..."  
  
"No money, no necklace." the old man simply said. Link grabbed the remains of the necklace and put them back in his pocket again. "Fine. I'll be back with some." he said and he exited the shop, followed by Fox. When they stood outside on the market of Castle Town, Fox said: "So... This means we're going to kick some ass?"  
  
"Yeah. Let's go pay Tuldor a visit. See if he's got some work for us." They started to walk in the direction of the castle, but Fox suddenly stopped. He saw Elwynn's mother running towards them. Link noticed her too. She looked like every other Lylatan he knew. He really couldn't make the difference between them, except for Lylatans he knew well, Elwynn and Fox, though he figured Fox had to be having the same with Hylians. "Fox! Fox!" she yelled. When she reached the Lylatan, she said panting: "Elwynn... Elwynn... has disapeared!"  
  
"What!?!" Fox yelled. "She had gone out one evening and didn't return. That was three days ago!" Link could clearly see that Elwynn's mother was worried beyond sanity. "Three days!?! We've got to find her!" was Fox's impulsive reply. "Where was she last seen?" Link asked calm, though he feared it had something to do with the evil which was at work as of late. "I don't know. She was on her way to you, Fox and... never returned." Elwynn's mother said, looking from Link to Fox. "Don't worry, ma'am. We'll find her." Link said before Fox could reply. "Yes, we will." Fox said reassuring. Elwynn's mother sighed in relief. "Thank you." she said. "Though I've looked everywhere..."  
  
"Never give up hope, mrs V." Fox said, putting a comforting hand on the Lylatan woman's shoulder. Link figured 'V' had to be the start of Elwynn's last name. Hylian's didn't have last names. Link thought it was odd to have two names. "I'll continue to search in town, boys." Elwynn's mother said. "Alright. We'll look out in the fields. Perhaps she's with the Kokiri or something." Fox said. The mother's eyes brightened a little. That could indeed be a possibility. Link and Fox started to walk away from her. "Goodbye, mrs V."  
  
"Bye, ma'am." The two friends searched that day through almost all of Hyrule. They asked the Kokiri, travelers and everyone that crossed her path if they had seen a sign of Elwynn. Though without result. It had already turned dark when the two arived at Castle Town again. They were tired, hungry and sad. "Fox..." Link started. "Don't say it, Link." Fox said, affraid that he'd hear from his friend what had been poundering in his head the entire day. She couldn't have gone to another country. Their search had already been a wild goose chase. Elwynn would never worry her friends or her parents by staying somewhere in the fields. Perhaps she was attacked by something or kidnapped. But why? Her parents weren't rich. Fox had no idea where to look next, but he refused to accept that she would be... gone. No, she was alive. She had to be! He turned around and started to run away from the city. "Fox!" Link yelled. "I'll find her, Link!" When the darkness had swallowed the Lylatan, Link sighed and started to walk back to the castle. Fox knew how to take care of himself and at least the search would keep the young man's hope alive. Link feared the worst for Elwynn. He just hoped Ganondorf didn't have anything to do with it. "Have you found her?" Elwynn's mother asked Link, ripping him out of his thoughts. She was in a bad condition, the worry could be read from her entire body. She stood near the gate. "Fox is still looking, ma'am." Link said. "Just go get some sleep. He knows what he's doing." Elwynn's mother turned away from Link. "How can I sleep while Elwynn is alone somewhere?" Link could understand what she was talking about. He walked away from her, towards the castle. Whatever he would say to Elwynn's mother, she would remain there. Waiting. Hoping. Link immediatly went to Zelda's room as soon as he was in the castle. She had to know about this. When he entered her room he saw her sleeping on the blankets of her bed, still wearing her clothes. He carefully woke her up. When she opened her eyes and saw him standing over her, she said with a sleepy voice: "Link... I wanted to wait for you..." Link didn't allow her to fully wake up. "Elwynn has disappeared!" he whispered, as if the darkness of Zelda's room silenced his voice. "What?" Zelda replied. "She went out one night and hasn't returned. Her mother and Fox are desperate and Fox is still looking in the fields." Zelda sat up straight. "I have to sent soldiers to look for her!" Link walked to the window and looked over Castle Town. "I fear the worst, Zelda." he muttered. "What?" Zelda said again, not believing that the person with the most positive look on life would say a thing like that. Link turned to her with a sad look in his eyes. A look Zelda couldn't see because of the darkness. "I hope I'm wrong, but... I think Ganondorf is behind this all..." Zelda stood up and walked to Link. She didn't know what to say, so she just hugged him. After a while, she said: "I'm sure we'll find her, Link." Then, she noticed something outside. In the light of the houses and the torches of the guards on the walls of Hyrule Castle, she saw something... unnatural. She let go off Link and walked to the glass door of the balcony. "What the..." she murmered. "What's up, Zel?" Link asked disturbed. "Look..." she simply said, pointing at something in the distance. Something flying. Link stepped next to his girlfriend and narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, he saw it too. Strange flying shadows, barely visible due to the lack of light. They approached the wall between the fields and Castle Town at high speed. Both Hylians tried to see what they were, but it was just too dark. Suddenly, glowing balls of fire, the size of a melon, shot from one of the shadows, lightening the surrounding area before striking into the wall, exploding with devastating effect. "By Farore... What..." Link said, startled. The figures reached the town and flew over the wall, firing glowing balls at random directions. The balls struck the houses of the unsuspecting townsfolk, blasting them apart and setting them on fire. When one of the creatures flew close to the castle, Zelda recognised them. "Link! Those things are Gargoyles!" Link looked at her, his face illuminated by the light of the explosions. "You mean like those stone statues?"  
  
"Yes. Brought to life by magic. People used to do that to protect themselves from Evil, but apparantly, Evil has found a way to use them!" Link looked outside again and saw people running across the streets in panic as the Gargoyles flew about, spitting fireballs, lightening the evening sky. He drew his sword. Zelda saw by the determination in his eyes that he would kill them all... or die trying. "Link..." she started, trying to talk him out of risking his neck again. He just placed a quick kiss on her lips and opened the glass door to the balcony. "Let's kill some beasties." he murmered. He waited on the blacony for a Gargoyle to fly by. It didn't took long for one to come. Gargoyles were humanoid creatures. They had a grayish, tough skin and had bat-like wings on their backs. Their heads were heart-shaped and they had two little horns on top of their heads. Their large mouths were filled with short, blunt teeth. Their eyes were placed a bit more way from each other than it was the case with Humans and looked like the eyes of a cat. Link estimated that the Gargoyle was close enough to the balcony. No mistakes now. He didn't want to die that stupid. He put one foot on the edge of the balcony and stretched it completely, jumping off the blacony and leaving Zelda screaming behind. To Link's horror, the Gargoyle had noticed him and took an evasive manouvre. Link missed his target completely and fell next to the creature. Without thought, his body reacted and he grabbed the leg of the Gargoyle with his free hand. He felt his heart pounding in his throat as the Gargoyle screamed in surprise. It sounded like the scream of an eagle. The creature was barely able to hold the combined weight of himself AND Link and started to descend. When he almost reached the ground, Link thought it was time to bail out. He hacked the creature in his chest with his sword, for as far as that was possible from his position. Link was glad when he heard a painful cry and felt warm, sticky blood crawling down his arm at which he held himself on to the Gargoyle. The creature francly tried to keep himself airborne, but his teared organs didn't allow him. Link quickly let go of him as he dropped from the air like a dead fly. The dead Gagoyle crashed next to Link, who made a roll to break his fall, for it had been a bit higher than the Hylian had estimated. When he stood up, he realised that he stood in the middle of the chaos of the burning Castle Town. "Great. What next?" he murmered. Loads of Gargoyles flew over his head, spitting fireballs about. The sound of explosions was overwhelming and the townspeople had no idea what was happening, running about and trying to find cover against a fiery death. Link couldn't do much with his sword against the flying creatures. He'd best try to help the people as much as possible. He had to find Fox's parents first. He ran past intense heat of burning buldings and quickly found the McCloud house. To his horror, he saw that it was on fire too. He didn't saw Fox's parents anywhere, so he quickly rushed into the house. The house had obviously been hit from the side, since a part from the back wall was gone and the furniture on the ground floor had already caught fire. "Mr McCloud? Mrs McCloud?" Link yelled. The reply was a soft moan. Link walked further into the living-room and found Fox's mother lying on the floor. She had obviously been knocked out by the explosion. Link quickly sheathed his sword and lifted her from the floor. With her motionless body in his arms, he ran out of the house and put her on the street. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Link. "Link... James... upstairs..." were the only words she could say. Without hesitation, Link dashed back into the building and ran up the stairs. The heat seemed to have infested them, since they had trouble keeping Link's weight. He searched the first floor and found James. Fox's father was trying to get from underneath a part of the wall which had been blown apart by the explosion. The roof above him had already caught fire and Link had trouble breathing because of the thick layers of smoke. "Link..." James said coughing as soon as he saw Link. The Hylian didn't hesitate a second, but tried to pull the part of the wall which had fallen on top of James off of the Lylatan. With all of his strength, Link managed to move the stone obstacle and free James. The wall had been lying on James' legs and he cried out of pain. "My legs..." he groaned. Link helped him up and supported him as they started to walk to the stairs. "Just lean on me, mister McCloud." Link said as they started to walk down the stairs. Link could see by the grimace on James' face that it hurt the Lylatan a lot. The stairs made a dangerous sound, as if it was just moments away from giving in, but it held the two men. When they were outside, James sat down on the street and coughed. His wife had awakened fully and sat down next to him. Link was also troubled by coughing and supported himself by putting his hands on his legs in a bent position. When the fresh air had cleansed his lungs, he stood up straight again. "Thank you, Link." mrs McCloud said grateful. "No thanks. Can I help..." Link replied, but, between his caughing, James said: "Nail those suckers, Link." An angry expression danced on his fox-like face. "I will, mister McCloud." Link said as he drew his sword. He started to walk away from them, right before Navi flew into his face. "Navi?" Link said startled as he did a few steps back and the fairy caught her breath. "Can I help?" she asked him with her tiny voice. Link wanted to say something, but he changed his angry look. "Yes. I believe you can."  
  
Navi flew for her life over the burning Castle Town as fast as she could. She was being chased by two Gargoyles. A relieved look appeared on her little face as soon as she saw she reached 'the place'. She flew low over the streets and yelled: "Help, help, help! Two grey uglies behind me!" Suddenly, Link appeared from behind a corner, his back facing Navi, his sword sturdy in two hands. When he heard Navi's yelling close enough, he quickly turned around and sliced the air during his turn, putting his sword in a good striking position. It were just a few nanoseconds his mind had to think, since Navi almost flew him in the face, closely followed by the two Gargoyles. But those short moments of time were all he needed. He quickly swung his blade diagonally up, taking a leg of the Gargoyle closest to him with it. He noticed the second Gargoyle flying a bit higher, but behind the first, so he turned around, lowered his sword and, when he completed the turn and faced the second Gargoyle, he jumped up and sliced up with his sword, tearing the creature's skin open. This all happened incredibly fast and when Link landed on his feet again, he was just in time to turn his head around to see the first Gargoyle stumble on the ground behind him because of the blood loss. The second one also fell on the ground, but in front of him. Link sticked out his flat hand and Navi landed on it. "Nice work, little one." he said mocking. "Very funny." she replied. "Yes. Very funny, Link." a voice said. When Link looked up, he saw Ganondorf standing in front of him. "You!" Link said furiously. "Yes. Me." Ganondorf calmly replied. "You're behind this all! Behind Elwynn's disappearance, behind the Gargoyles, behind the undead and the recent disturbances!"  
  
"I shall be honest with you." Ganondorf started. "I'm not."  
  
"Oh yeah? Then who is?"  
  
"You'll know soon enough." Navi flew up from Link's hand and moved a bit closer to Ganondorf. "You're a VERY evil man!" she fumed. "As a matter of fact, I am." Ganondorf said. "But I didn't do all this. I would. If I had the power to do it." Suddenly, a ray of arrows flew over their heads, striking a couple of Gargoyles. Link looked at where they came from and saw a detachment of ten Hylian soldiers at the entrance of the town, all armed with bows. Link was surprised to see who was leading them: Zelda. Ganondorf noticed it too and smiled. "That's my girl." he murmered. He walked towards the group of soldiers. When Zelda recognised Ganondorf, she yelled: "Stop right there!" Ganondorf didn't listen to her and continued his pace untill he stopped right in front of her as the soldiers aimed their bows at the man. "Hello, Princess of Hyrule." he said, looking at her with an evil smile. Zelda had an angry, emotional look on her face. "How could you do this?" she asked Ganondorf with a shaking voice. "I didn't do this. My master did." he said calmly. "What holds me back from killing you right here?" she asked herself up loud. For a moment, Link didn't recognise Zelda in those words. He walked to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps because you really like me?" Ganondorf said. "Make those creatures disappear." Zelda ordered Ganondorf, ignoring the evil man's remark. Ganondorf kept his evil smile on his face and said: "Even IF I could do that, I wouldn't."  
  
"I'm not asking, Ganondorf!" Zelda said confident. Link smiled. She would make a good ruler. All she needed was a little confidence. And he gave that to her. "I don't think I like that tone, little princess." Ganondorf replied. "Like that matters, Ganondorf. It's twelve to one."  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Link said. "I count for more than one!"  
  
"And don't forget me!" Navi said from under Link's cap. Apparantly, she had flown underneath it. She could be incredibly sneaky at times. "You losers bore me." Ganondorf said. A few soldiers aimed their bows at a different angle and fired their arrows. A Gargoyle crashed not far from the group of people. Ganondorf didn't seem to be troubled by it. "Arrest him." Zelda ordered the soldiers. Two of them walked to Ganondorf and tied his hands together with a rope. "Put him in prison. The rest comes with me. There are still Gargoyles left." Zelda said, looking at Link for a brief moment. He smiled at her and raised his thumb. Zelda couldn't help but smile as well, a bit shyly. She started to walk further into the town, looking for Gargoyles, though she didn't had far to look. Several of the creatures soared towards the group of Hylian soldiers. Before the soldiers or Zelda could react, the grey creatures spit fireballs towards the party. Link saw it and quickly reacted. He dropped his sword, ran to Zelda and threw himself on top of her, taking her with him to the ground. He felt the heat and heard a painful scream as the explosions sounded and he acted as a living shield for her. When he stood up, he saw that the soldiers had jumped away as well, except for one, who lay on the ground, his leg torn off and parts of his skin burned away. He was swallowing, still alive, his eyes moving rapidly to spot his friends. Link didn't waste time and ripped a part of his short-sleeved tunic off. He kneeled next to the man, who was over the shock and had started screaming. "This will hurt." Link simply said as he wound the piece of fabrik around the part of the man's leg which was still on his body. He wound it tightly around it, cutting off the blood which tried to get out of the man's body as the soldier groaned. Zelda, who had stood up, turned her back to the scene and tried to swallow away a feeling of sickness. This was definetly the worst and most disgusting thing she had seen in her entire life. "I don't want to die... I don't want to die!" the soldier screamed in panic. Link turned to the soldiers around him. "Don't just stand there! Shoot those things out of the sky!" The men hesitated a second, shocked by their fallen comrade, but did as Link ordered and stood guard. "Don't let me die." the man said to Link, who supported the man's head. Link had already seen that the man had lost too much blood. "Easy, easy." he said. "I'm dying, right?" the man asked again. Link remained silent. He knew it wouldn't take too long now. "Link, do something!" Zelda nearly screamed. She stood a little bit away from him. He just looked at her with a sad expression on his face. When he turned back to the soldier, he had closed his eyes. Link felt the Hylian's neck and noticed that his heart had stopped beating. He was dead. Zelda swallowed. "Farore..." she simply said, unable to get her eyes off the mutilated body. Link noticed her standing, staring and he stood up. He walked to her and grabbed her arms. It took him some effort to make her look at him. "Zelda, it's over. He has no more pain." Those few words seemed to calm Zelda down. The soldiers had noticed that their friend had passed away and some stood with tears in their eyes. They expected the Gargoyles to return, but the creatures didn't, so Zelda said: "Come on, men. We've got to kill every last one of those flying scumbags!" Link picked up his dropped sword again and started to follow Zelda as she continued to walk through the town, searching for the creatures. Very soon, they encountered another pack of them. They were busy firing their fireballs about. There was a whole bunch of them and the soldiers took aim and let their arrows fly. They struck the Gargoyles and some of them crashed on the ground, but there were just way too many of them. The action of the soldiers caught the creatures' attention and they started to fly towards the group of Hylians. "This is bad." Link said. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Zelda, you're able to move objects without touching them, right?" he asked the princess. "Yes, but..."  
  
"Then lift me up, so that I can fight them!"  
  
"But I've never tried that on a person before." Link just grinned. "There's a first time for everything." he replied. Zelda swallowed. The life of her boyfriend lay in her delicate hands. She had to make no mistakes. She closed her eyes, concentrated and opened them again. She spread her hands and pointed them towards Link to get a lock on him. When she thought she had him, she moved her arms up, slowly. Link started to float in mid-air. His body followed the exact line Zelda's hands directed. "Okay, Zel!" he yelled as the princess directed him to about the same altitude as the incoming Gargoyles. "Forward!" Link yelled as he pointed the index finger of his free hand towards the creatures, looking pretty stupid. Zelda made the right gesture with her hands and Link soared at the Gargoyles with incredible speed. Link hadn't expected that and was too late to ready his sword. He was just on time to raise his feet in the direction of one Gargoyle. With the speed Zelda gave him, he crashed in on the creature, striking it's head with his feet and knocking it to the ground. The other Gargoyles forgot about the soldiers and started to chase Link, who had no choice but to follow Zelda's movements as he raced through the air. "Not so fast, Zelda!" Link yelled as he felt his stomach turn as Zelda had him made a somersault to avoid the fireballs of the angry Gargoyles. Link strengthened his grip on his sword as Zelda let him fly away from the creatures. When the distance was large enough, she stopped him and turned him around. This time, Link stood, no, hang ready. He held his sword with two hands. "Let's go." he said confident. Zelda made the right gestures and Link flew towards the Gargoyles. Zelda didn't move her hands as quickly as before, so Link had the time to estimate a good strike. But the Gargoyles also had time to avoid him. "Faster, Zelda!" Link yelled as he saw the Gargoyles opening their mouths to spit fireballs at him. This time, Link was ready for a fast accellaration. And suddenly, with a rapid speed, he raced towards the group. He crashed in on one of the creatures and the light of the fire in the town reflected on his sword as he sliced one of the Gargoyles' throat open. "Stop!" Link yelled, still within the group of creatures. Zelda did as Link asked and held her hands still. The clumsy span of the wings of the Gargoyles made it easy for Link to hack them down one by one. The creatures were just too close to each other to fight him. Link's blade sliced through the air and hit warm flesh, tearing it apart. Link turned and twisted in the air, slicing around him. Zelda had trouble keeping him in the air. Every Gargoyle in the city charged Link in rage, trying to tear him apart with their claws. This had one advantage: Link didn't had to waste time to look for a target, but he had to use all of his skill and strength to stay alive. When he rid a Gargoyle of his claw, blood spirted about. "Up!" Link yelled. Zelda immediatly did what he requested and rapidly directed him to the skies. When Link was well above the group of monsters, he ordered Zelda to take him down again. He turned his body so that his head faced the Gargoyles underneath him, who rapidly came closer thanks to Zelda's movements. Link crashed into one of the Gargoyles, planting his sword in the creature's head. He screamed his last cries and tumbled to the earth as Link removed his sword. The Hylian turned around and was just in time to kick a Gargoyle away and gut another one at the same time. There weren't many Gargoyles left. Link noticed that one wanted to attack him from the side, but before the creature was able to reach him, he was pierced by several arrows and crashed on the ground. Link raised his thumb to the group of soldiers. The few remaining Gargoyles saw that they couldn't stand a chance anymore and retreated to the skies, flying away from Castle Town. Zelda guided Link back to earth under the victorious cries of the soldiers. "I like being under your control, Zel." Link said with a grin, making Zelda blush. "What the hell has happened here?" Fox asked as he came running in the town and noticed the corpses around him. "Fox!" Zelda said surprised. "Did you find Elwynn?" Link immediatly asked. "No." Fox said sad. "I'll continue my search tomorrow. Where are my parents? Are they safe?" he continued, barely capable of comprehending it all. "They are. And we got the one responsible for all this." Link said.  
  
The next morning, Castle Town was nothing but a smoking ruin. The survivors of the assault were allowed to stay at the castle and that day, Ganondorf stood tial in front of King Harkinian, his hands tied behind his back, in front of the throne on which Harkinian sat. He was flanked by two soldiers, but more troops were in the throne-room, guarding the entrances. Zelda sat on the second throne and Impa, Fox and Link stood next to her. Navi fluttered around Link's head. Fox had decided to wait and rest for a moment before proceeding with his search. He and Link had stayed at the castle that night to regain their strength from the exhausting night. Harkinian had still not said a word to his daughter, Impa or Link. Let alone Fox. "We meet again, Ganondorf." he said to the tied man in front of him. "And you are...?" Ganondorf said sarcasticly. "You've ruined the ball and now you've ruined my city!"  
  
"Now I remember! You're that cowardly king who was the first to flee the throne-room!" Ganondorf said, making it hard for Link not to laugh. Harkinian looked furiously at the Evil wizard. "How dare you? And why have you attacked the town?" Ganondorf remained silent. "Answer me, you dog!" Harkinian yelled furiously. Ganondorf just grinned. During the conversation between the King and Ganondorf, Link noticed the same bat he had seen before, hanging up-side-down from the ceiling. "That cursed bat again..." Link murmered, drawing Zelda's attention. She looked up and saw the bat, too. "Nayru, no!" she yelled, surprising everyone in the throne-room, except Ganondorf. Zelda looked at the bat with frightened eyes. "Relax, Zel. We've seen larger creatures." Link said, joking a little. Zelda kept her blue eyes locked on the bat as it decended to the marble floor and sat next to Ganondorf. Suddenly, smoke appeared at the place where the bat sat, filling a large portion of the room. When the smoke had escaped the throne- room through the windows, everyone looked in complete amazement to see Vulgar standing at the place of the bat. He looked around and stopped when his gaze met Zelda's. He wore the same clothes he had been wearing on the ball. "You're a... You're a..."  
  
"You've recognised me, princess. Congratulations. But you don't know why I'm here, do you?" Ganondorf turned to Vulgar and said: "I see the last victim has proven worthy, my liege."  
  
"Yes, she has." Vulgar said as he held his hand in the light of the sun which cast through the window. "This can't be!" Zelda screamed. "But it is, Zelda." Vulgar said before showing Zelda his hand. "See? No burns. The legend is true." He grinned at her. "Oh, Din. Oh, no!" Zelda murmered. "Look, Fox. That's the same asshole we killed." Link said, not taking his eyes off Vulgar. "Yeah." Fox replied. "Do you want to die again, mister?" he asked Vulgar. "Pathetic fools!" Vulgar yelled to Link and Fox. "Did you really believe that I would die that easily?" He pointed his finger towards Link. "Farore, no! Please don't, Vulgar. Please!" Zelda suddenly said, jumping off her throne. "Well, I suppose I could leave them to live their pathetic lives."  
  
"What is going on here?" Harkinian demanded. "Good king." Vulgar said as he bowed. "I am responsible for the undead and the destruction of your town. I'm responsible for the strange behaviours of your people and the 'fooling around'." Link knew Vulgar was talking about the clown. "Then what do you want?" Harkinian asked angry, wanting to hear Vulgar's story first before having him executed. "Your lovely daughter." Before Link could reply, Harkinian yelled: "What!?! You did all this to get my failure of a daughter!?" Link, Fox, Impa, Zelda, Navi and the soldiers all looked at Harkinian, each hating the king for his words. "It's hard for a father to give his daughter away, but I will leave you to your peace if you hand her over." Harkinian turned to his daughter. "Now you've got a chance to be useful, Zelda." he said coldly. "Father..." Zelda said with a shaking voice, barely believing that this was her father. "We all have to make sacrifices, my daughter." he said. He turned back to Vulgar. "Take her and leave." Vulgar bowed as he said: "A wise decision, my King."  
  
"No!" Link yelled with his sword drawn. "She's not going anywhere! If you want her, you'll have to go through me first!" He stepped in between Vulgar and Zelda. "And me." Fox said, his spear at the ready as he stepped next to Link. "And me." Impa said, flanking Link on his other side. "And don't forget me!" Navi said as tough as possible. "Look at that." Vulgar said sarcastic. "Two kids, a fairy and a nursemaid." Link felt Zelda's hand on his shoulder. "Stop it, Link. It'll get get you killed." She walked to Vulgar. "I go with you, you demon. But spare Hyrule."  
  
"No!" Link yelled. "Come on, Zel, you can't be serious! Fox and I will take care of him." Zelda walked to Link and put a flat hand on his chest, at the place where she could feel his heartbeat. "He's too powerful, Link. Believe me."  
  
"Even if he were more powerful that the Goddesses, I will still fight him." Zelda brought her lips a bit closer to Link's. "No, Link. Forgive me and never forget me." She kissed him and Link felt a strange energy shoot through his body. When Zelda pulled back from him, Link noticed that he couldn't move a limp. He could only move his eyes, not even his lips. "Zelda, at least go with a little bit dignity. You're a princess. No need to ask forgiveness from a peasant!" Harkinian said. Vulgar snapped with his fingers and a strange, red glowing portal emerged in the middle of the throne-room, illuminating the walls with it's strange glow. "Let's go, Zelda. Time's a wasting." Vulgar said calmly. Tears rolled down Link's cheeks as he saw Zelda walk towards the portal. She turned around a last time and looked at Link, tears also in her eyes. She turned around again and stiffened before she walked through the portal, followed by Vulgar. "I think I'll be leaving as well." Ganondorf said as soon as Vulgar and Zelda were gone. He did a step towards the portal, but Fox was faster. "I don't think so!" the Lylatan yelled as he ran towards Ganondorf. The wizard turned around and felt the wood of Fox's spear against his neck as the young man jumped on top of him, taking the man with him in a roll over the ground. "Pesky little critter!" Ganondorf yelled furiously as he threw Fox of off him. The Lylatan rolled backwards and stood up, holding his spear at the ready. "You will die for that!" Ganondorf yelled as he stood up, pointing a finger at Fox. "Try me, you red-haired freak!" Fox yelled back.  
  
Zelda shivered as she walked through dark, cold catacombs. She followed Vulgar, who didn't seem to mind his surroundings. "Where are we going?" Zelda demanded. "To your new home." Zelda remained silent for a while. "Is it true?" she asked, scared to know it. "What?" Vulgar said, not stopping his pace. "Did you really kill the hundred?" Vulgar grinned. "Yes. I did." After a while, they reached the end of the catacombs and entered a new room. A room filled with horror. Zelda felt a wave of sickness raging through her body as she witnessed that what she had feared. In the middle of the dark, round candle-lit room was a big, artificial pool. It was filled with a red liquid. Around the pool, chained to the round wall, they hang, their throats all cut open and dried up blood on their necks. A hundred maidens. One hundred young women. Just as the legend had told Zelda. She remembered the words in the old book she had found one day: "And on the day before the end, the creature of Darkness shall bathe in the blood of a hundred powerful maidens and he shall become immortal, upon which the world shall be coated in darkness." She remembered the words so clearly as she was confronted by this horrible feat. The girls were of different races: Human, Elf, Hylian... All innocent and barely older than Zelda herself. "You might recognise this one, princess." Vulgar said with a proud grin. When Zelda turned to him, she saw the fox-like features of Elwynn hanging on the wall. Her throat was cut open and her eyes were closed. The soft fur around her neck had the red color of her blood. The Hylian princess was shocked. "Oh, Din... No... Not Elwynn..." She had lost a good friend and Fox had lost his girlfriend. This was terrible! Zelda fell on her knees and started to cry. "Difficult things, those emotions." Vulgar said coldly. "She was a friend of yours, wasn't she? Well, than it might be good to know that she kept up hope on being rescued until the very moment I caught her fresh, warm blood with my goblet. She lived just long enough to see me drinking it, Zelda." This made Zelda cry even louder. "You monster!"  
  
"Monster? Come, come, Zelda. No need to be rude. My race might not be known too well, but I'm not a monster."  
  
"You're nothing but an undead parasite!" With unearthy speed, Vulgar ran to her and grabbed her at the collar of her dress and lifted her up. "Be careful with that tongue, princess!" he said with a hissing voice Zelda barely recognised. He brought his head close to her neck and opened his mouth. On the last moment, he withdrew and looked at her. "Don't make me angry, sweety." he said. He grinned, revealing his abnormally large fangs.  
  
Fox hit the ground hard as Ganondorf towered above him. Link couldn't do a thing but watch as Ganondorf put a brown boot on Fox's chest. The evil wizard spread the fingers of his hand and sharp nails shot from the tips of his fingers, creating a deadly claw. Harkinian had fled the throne-room and had ordered the soldiers to retreat. The death of Link and Fox would be very convenient for him. Link was still in his paralyzed position and Ganondorf had used his spells to push Fox against the ground, making him harmless. As Fox tried to get free from Ganondorfs heavy boot, the dark wizard laughed and brought his claw close to Fox. "Before you die, Lylatan, I want to tell you a little secret." Ganondorf paused, looked at Link and then back at Fox again. "You know that cute, little girly fox? Goes by the name of Elwynn, I believe." Fox's eyes widened. "You've searched far to find her. But you know... She makes a nice sound when you slice her throat open..." Something exploded in Fox. The usually calm, calculating Lylatan changed. A shock shot through his body. Elwynn, his girlfriend, murdered by this man! His hopes on finding her alive faded in a single moment. "NO!!" With an enormous strength, Fox grabbed Ganondorfs foot and turned his own body around, throwing Ganondorf on the ground. " You bastard!" Fox quickly stood up and collected his spear from the ground. Ganondorf tried to stand up, but Fox kicked him in his face and he bounced back. "You murdered her!" Fox yelled. Ganondorf, dazed by Fox's attack, tried to crawl away on his feet and hands. Fox kicked him in his stomach. "You filthy rat!" Ganondorf groaned and collapsed. Fox kicked him in his face again, furiously. Ganondorf's face was bleeding as Fox lifted him up by grabbing his collar. He punched the warlock in his face, but held on to him and his spear. Ganondorf, completely dazed, couldn't do a thing as Fox carefully sticked the spear in his stomach, penetrating his skin. All he could do was groan and watch his blood leaving his body. Fox rougly took Ganondorf to a wall of the throne-room. He put the spear against the wall, Ganondorf still stuck on it. Ganondorf tried to pull the spear out of his body, but to no avail. "Now you pay, dog!" Fox yelled as he stepped a little bit away from Ganondorf. He jumped a little bit up in the air, spinned his body completely around and kicked Ganondorf with an enormous force on his back. With a scream, Ganondorf hit the wall with his face and without much effort, the spear shot through the wizards body, tearing some internal organs apart. Barely alive, Ganondorf collapsed on the ground, the spear still sticking out of his body. He remained alive for a few moments, but they were very short. Fox pulled his spear out of the lifeless body of Vulgar's servant, right before he felt Link's hand on his shoulder. Zelda's spell had only been temporary. Link had barely believed what Ganondorf had said. Elwynn dead! Fox looked at his friend. He wanted to cry, but there was no time for that. He walked past Link and to the portal. Fox and Link both knew that sick men like Ganondorf didn't lie. "I'm sorry, man." Link said. Fox looked down, tears in his eyes. "And Vulgar is going to be even more sorry." he said with a shaking voice. Link admired Fox's ability to handle himself. Fox turned around to him. "I'll mourn later, Link. Now, we must save Zelda and avenge Elwynn." Link just nodded and he joined Fox's side. They looked at each other one more time before they stepped into the glimmering portal to fight an impossible battle.  
  
Link and Fox carefully walked through the corridors of the damp dungeon. Danger could have been lurking from all sides. After some time, they entered the horrible room and were speechless. "By Nayru..." Link murmered as he smelled the sickening stench of decaying corpses and saw the hundred dead girls. "What kind of sick mind does such a thing?" he continued. Fox was the first to notice Elwynn. He was shocked to see her that way. Tears brimmed in his eyes again as he walked towards her. Link noticed her too and kept his distance to give Fox a few moments of peace. "Elwynn..." Fox murmered. He touched her fur. It was cold. She must have hung there for a while. Fox fell to his knees and started crying. He couldn't help himself anymore. Link wasn't able to keep his eyes dry, either. Suddenly, Fox stood up and raised his fist in the air. "I'll avenge her, Vulgar!" he yelled. Link decided to leave his friend alone with his grief and noticed a passageway. He carefully walked around the pool of blood and towards it. The passageway lead to another room. In it stood some sort of marble altar with steps running to a pole. And chained to that pole was Zelda. Link got the shock of his life as he saw her head hanging down and blood dripping down from underneath her head. He ran up to her. "Oh, no. Please... Not you too..." He carefully raised her head with his hand, affraid that it might fall off. He saw that the blood was dripping from a bite-wound and not a cut-wound. The wound looked horrible and infected. Zelda slowly opened her eyes a bit. "Link..." she murmered, barely able to open her mout far enough to let the tones of her voice out. "Zelda!" Link said relieved, glad that she was still alive. "You have to get medical attention. I'm taking you back to the castle." Link wanted to untie the chains around Zelda's wrists, but Zelda stopped him. "No... Don't... set me... free..."  
  
"What?" Link said surprised. "Vulgar... has... bitten me. I will... become his... Vampire queen."  
  
"A Vampire?"  
  
"A... creature of... darkness. They live on... blood from others. Those who fall... prey... will change. Into a... Vampire."  
  
"What!? Then we'll have to find a cure before it's too late!" Zelda slowly shook her head. "There... is no cure."  
  
"Of course there's a cure! There's a cure for everything!" Link yelled desperate. "Not... for this. Blood is... infected already. It won't... take long now. You got to... kill me." Zelda murmered. Link furiously shook his head. "Never, Zelda. You know that."  
  
"I'll turn... evil. Kill me..." Zelda continued. Fox entered the room. He walked slowly, defeated. "Fox... Elwynn..." Zelda started, but the Lylatan interrupted her. "I know, Zelda. We've got to find a cure for you." Zelda slowly shook her head. "Impossible... Fox, you kill me... Link won't... do it."  
  
"I won't kill you either, Zelda. But we cannot leave. The portal is gone." Fox said the last part to Link. Link looked at Zelda again. He looked sad. "You're very brave, Zelda." he said. "But I don't want to live without you." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "When you turn into one of those beings... I'll stay with you. So that you can bite me. Then we can stay together forever." Fox looked at Link. He was serious. The Lylatan wasn't surprised, though. Zelda startled. She knew Link and she knew it had no use trying to talk him out of it. She just lowered her head. That it all had to end this way. Fox walked to Link. "You guys are my friends. And Elwynn is... was my girlfriend. I'm staying as well. I want to be with my friends."  
  
"But, Fox. Your parents..." Link said. "They will understand." Fox replied, more to convince himself than his friend. He was heart-broken because of the loss of Elwynn. And now his friends would leave him as well. He wouldn't let that happen. Fox and Link sat down next to each other and waited. They didn't have to wait long for Zelda to change. "Link... It won't... take long... now..." Zelda murmered, her voice changing constantly as she said it. Link and Fox stood up. They looked at each other and then hugged shortly. "I'll see you, buddy." Link said to his friend. "Yeah. I think I'll take a bite from Harkinian when I'm a Vampire." Fox said the last sentence soft enough for only Link to hear it. Link smiled and walked to Zelda. "One last... kiss." she murmered with the same odd voice. Link did as she asked and kissed her on the lips. Slowly, he withdrew. "I love you, my sweet Zelda." he murmered as he hugged her and put his head on her shoulder. "I'm so... thirsty..." Zelda said when she noticed the artery of his neck. She tried to resist, but the thirst was too big. She moved her head to Link's neck and opened her mouth. In a quick move, she put he lengthened fangs in his neck and penetrated the artery. Link felt a terrible pain in his neck as Zelda sucked out blood to satisfy her thirst. Link felt his legs grow weak and he collapsed on the ground. Fox startled as he saw Zelda's evil face with her long fangs and Link's blood on her lips. She licked it off and looked at Fox with yellowish eyes. Fox swallowed. But he still wanted to go on. He was too bittered to live. The loss of Elwynn was still on his mind. It had shocked him out of his sense. If he would have given it a second thought, he would not have done it. He took in a deep breath and walked to Zelda, who hissed to him as soon as he approached. "Yes... More!" she hissed with a voice not hers. "You're not like this, Zelda. At least we're going to stay together." Fox murmered. He stepped next to Zelda, who almost immediatly bit Fox in his neck at the right place. Vampires didn't care for races. Blood was blood. Fox also felt blood leaving his body and he collapsed on the ground as well, next to his best friend. He vaguely heard someone laughing. Vulgar appeared from somewhere, looking at the group of friends. "The three best warriors of the land... Now even the Heavens won't be able to stop me!" He walked to Zelda and touched her cheek. "Isn't that right, my queen?" Zelda's response was quick: She bit him in the hand, hissing. Vulgar withdrew his hand. It was bleeding, but he didn't seem to mind. "Oh yeah, that's true. You've lost your humanity. You'll learn to behave." He slapped her in her face. He turned around and started to walk away. Link looked up and thought he was halucinating as he saw a second man. It was a tall, strong man and he held a large, two-handed sword. The sword was glowing with a golden light and the man head was covered with a cap. The shadow of it fell over his face, making the man look like the Reaper from those fairy tales. Except that this man radiated goodness and purity. He wore a strange, golden armor Link had never seen before and his back was covered with a long, white cape. The strangest thing about him were his large, white, glowing, feathery looking wings he had sticking out from underneath his cape. Vulgar hadn't noticed him or Link was just seeing things. "Vulgar, Prince of Darkness." the man spoke in a low, echoing voice. Vulgar turned around and startled when he saw the man. "Well, well. It looks like the Heavens are going to try something. Why the sudden move, Angel?" he said. "You need to be stopped, Vampire." the man spoke with the same voice he had spoken before. "You have gone too far by infecting them."  
  
"Why would the Heavens care for a mortal more or less?" Vulgar said calmly. "They are the symbol of friendship and compassion. They shall not go to the Dark side."  
  
"Friendship and compassion... How sweet, Angel. For your sake, I hope you can fight." Having said that, Vulgar pointed his hand at the Angel and a ball of black energy shot from his hand towards the Messenger of Light. The Angel simply caught the ball and closed his hand, extinguishing it. "You've got to do better than that, Vampire." the being said as he spread his wings and used them to soar at Vulgar with an incredible speed, barely touching the ground with his feet. Dust flew about as the Angel crashed into the Vampire, who wasn't fast enough to stop the Angel. Vulgar flew with his back against the wall, causing a deep crack in it and he stumbled on the ground, after which he simply stood up. "Pitiful, Angel. Very pitiful." Link barely believed his eyes as he saw the two beings of great power fight each other. He tried to remain awake. Not to fade away. He wanted to see this. Now it was Vulgar's turn to attack. His arms melted away and two arm- long blades grew from his body to replace his limbs. He slowly advanced onto the Angel, who also walked towards the Vampire. When close enough, Vulgar furiously slashed towards the Angel with his newly found blades. The Angel skillfully parried them with his two-handed sword and the two exchanged blows, neither one gaining advantage. When Vulgar thought he saw a gap in the Angel's defense, he quickly moved his free blade there in an attempt to strike the Messenger of Light down, but the Angel noticed it quick enough and moved his blade in the right position to parry Vulgar's attack. The two danced around each other, fighting for their immortal lives. They were both indeed immortal and had power beyond comprehension, but their powers were able to kill each other. Vulgar was strong enough to kill the Angel because of the bloodbath he had taken and the Angel was also strong enough to beat the Vampire. It was a battle of Titans that would decide the future of not only Hyrule, but of the entire world. The Angel was the last bastion of defense against the Vampire. As Vulgar got more desperate because he couldn't breach the Angel's defenses, he also started to loose his disguise of humanity. His face changed and became an evil grimace. His hair slowly disappeared and his voice changed into mere hissing. His ears deformed as well, they became longer and more pointy then they were in his Hylian disguise. His skin also turned into a slight purple color and his nose crawled up, making way for a hole with a slight thread of skin to seperate it in two. Slowly, he changed into his real form. The Angel wasn't surprised, but the half awake Link was. Vulgar, no matter how clever he was or how strong, turned out to be nothing more than a mere monster. It scared Link. Would he turn into this? Would Zelda turn into this? Zelda... She would loose her beauty... Had she known about her fate? Had she hidden it from him not to scare him? He looked at Fox. The Lylatan had passed out. Link could see the infected wound in his neck. Fox would also turn into a monster. Perhaps the three friends could learn how to act and look like Hylians, but they would be monsters! Abominations, not a fraction of what they had been in their lives before this. Vulgar got more and more furious and the Angel had to back away a little to avoid being chopped to pieces by the Vampire's mowing arms. Link slowly stood up. Very slowly. When the Angel did another step backwards, he stumbled over a loose rock in the ground and fell down on his back. Vulgar, or whatever was left of him, hissed a victorious cry. "You thought you could stop me, Angel!?" he yelled as the Angel rolled aside to avoid Vulgar's claw, which missed him by an inch. Link stumbled towards the Vampire, who had his back to him. The Angel could block another attack from Vulgar with his sword. Vulgar raised one arm in the air and it changed back to it's original form, upon which a black flame started to burn in the palm of his hand. "Goodbye, Angel! Forever!" Vulgar yelled, he wanted to lower his hand and blow the Angel up with Dark magic, but Link was just in time to throw himself on top of the creature of Darkness. Vulgar had not expected this and fell on the ground with Link, who rolled off of him, exhausted. When Vulgar stood up, he looked furiously at Link. "That was your last mistake, mortal!" he yelled and stabbed Link through his chest with one powerful thrust of his blade. He then moved his blade to the left, cutting Link's chest completely open. It didn't took long before Link died a painful death. Even his characteristic green cap was covered with blood. The last thought died away in his mind. It was a simple one. He was glad Zelda and Fox hadn't seen it. When Vulgar removed the blood-stained blade from Link's corpse, he turned around to see that the Angel was gone. "Where are you, coward!? Come and fight me like a man!" he screamed. "I'm right here, Vampire!" the Angel said as he soared towards Vulgar from his right side. Vulgar turned to the Angel just in time to feel his sword cut his flesh. Vulgar felt a burning pain and screamed as a strange force of light started to gnaw his flesh, skin and bones. The Angel didn't stop, however and sliced his sword up, chopping Vulgar's arm off. "No! I am immortal!" Vulgar shrieked. "Not against the blade of righteousness, Vampire." the Angel simply said, chopping Vulgar's head off with the giant sword. A blinding light appeared and Vulgar's squirming body simply disappeared with a strange crackling sound. A few moments later, everything had gotten quiet and the Angel looked around. "My task is completed." he sighed. "Except for one last thing." He sheathed his sword and walked to the chamber with the bath of blood. A little while later, he returned with the body of the deceased Elwynn in his arms. He placed her next to Fox. "Elwynn. Cheerful when allowed, but serious when needed. You have witnessed darkness, but you kept up hope." The Angel grabbed Fox and turned him on his back. "Fox. Your alliance to your friends was greater than your fear to die. Your courage and friendship conquered death itself." The Angel unchained Zelda, who was unconscious. He put her next to Fox and Elwynn. "Zelda, Princess of Destiny. You bolstered a power greater than man could ever witness. Your love and modesty are symbols of the Light and they shall not die." He walked to Link and grabbed his bloody corpse off the floor. He also grabbed Link's green cap which was covered with blood. He put it on Link's chest and put the young man next to Zelda. "Link. The love you held for the princess was far greater than your ego. You have learned from this conflict and your self-sacrifice saved this battle, the land, the world and your princess." The Angel backed away and looked at the four friends. "You have all fought against Evil. We have won, but you will encounter far more Evil on your path of life. The Heavens need you and so shall you not perish on this day. The battle is won, but the war is far from over. You shall awake and you shall remember everything, for this is a victory which must not be forgotten." The Angel made a gesture with his hand and the bodies of the four friends got covered in a holy light. "Thank you... heroes..." the Angel said as the four youngsters started to disappear.  
  
With a loud groan, Link awoke and saw Elwynn's face towering above him. "Hey, you're awake!" she said. "Elwynn?" Link asked surprised. "Well, who were you expecting? Din?" she replied. Link, still a bit confused and foggy, said: "But... you're dead!" Elwynn looked at him with a confused look on her face. "I believe so..." she said. Link said up straight and felt his head. "Goddesses, what a headache!" he said. Elwynn noticed Fox waking up and quickly ran to him and kneeled next to him. When the young man opened his eyes and saw Elwynn, he didn't know what to say. Elwynn didn't give him a chance either. She immediatly hugged and kissed him. Link turned around. He was still not used to seeing Lylatans kiss, but he figured Fox and Elwynn had to find it strange to see kissing Hylians. Link noticed they were out in the open field. The sun stood low on the horizon, but he could clearly see the walls of Castle Town. He saw Zelda and crawled to her. He wanted to see her waking up. When she opened her eyes, he lowered his face and looked into her eyes. "Goodmorning, my princess." he said smiling before he covered his lips with hers. He didn't notice Navi flying behind him. She had hidden away when Ganondorf and Fox had fought. And now a blinding flash in the fields had gotten her attention. When she saw the four friends, she sighed in relief and decided not to disturb them. Despite her differences with Link, she thought he and Zelda were a good couple after all. And she was happy that Fox and Elwynn were together again. With a smile, she flew back to the castle.  
  
It would take a some time before the four friends would be able to comprehend everything that had happened. They would know that it had indeed been a victory for the Light, but some questions would always remain unanswered. Such as why the Angel hadn't helped them sooner and where did the Angel come from? The Goddesses? Had they send him? The Angel had been right, however. They would indeed fight numerous other battles against Evil. Some would be easy. Some would be hard. But the bond between the four youngsters would always remain strong and they would never leave one of them down. Castle Town would also be rebuild in a pretty short time and a few years later, Fox and Elwynn would get married and get two children. King Harkinian would get murdered, though the assassin would never be discovered. Zelda would not mourn, for she would be able to marry Link. Link and Zelda would become fair rulers of Hyrule, though they would be out on adventuring most of the time. But that would be in the future. Now, they were enjoying some time together after the exhausting battle against Evil. Link, Zelda, Fox and Elwynn. Just four pawns in the great struggle between Good and Evil. But united, four almost unbeatable pawns.  
  
THE END  
  
*This story was made possible by:  
  
Blizzard Entertainment (thanks for the angel, boys), Shigeru Miyamoto (his imagination created Link, Zelda and Fox), Daniël, Thijs, Claire, Martin, (for reading my Dutch stories, encouraging me to go on) my English teacher (for giving me the assignment), Gideon (who, with his infinite patience and devotion, created a great board which attracted tons of cool people who rated and valuated this story), Arnout (who's arrogance really thrived me to try to write better than he does) and school. (for giving me so much free time)  
  
I sincerely thank you all, because this is the best and longest story I have ever written in one time. Hope you enjoyed it! 


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